


Skjaldmær

by TheDoomkitten



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! - All Media Types, Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Adult Language, Amateur Journalism, Anzu is Angry, Background Characters Not Tagged, Bad Parenting, Blood and Violence, Canon Divergence, Complex Descriptions of the Operations of Kame Game, Dramatic Irony, Gen, Girls Have Rights AU, Guns, Horror, In-Depth Dueling, Let Anzu Say Fuck, Mild Gore, OCs as Character Arc Devices, Penalty Games Are Horrifying, Shadi is an Asshat, Shadow Games Arc, Shadow Games Yami Does Not Fuck Around, Smells Like Darkness, Soul Room Symbolism for Beginners, Yami Anzu AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-19
Updated: 2020-04-29
Packaged: 2021-02-13 12:30:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 43,048
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21494338
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheDoomkitten/pseuds/TheDoomkitten
Summary: If the vessel gives up his mantle before he even dons it, what does that mean for the one who must bear it in his stead? When Yugi lets Anzu complete the Millennium Puzzle in his place so the artifact can grant her wish, he unwittingly seals the ghost of the ancient pharaoh inside her soul. Now Anzu must reckon with the power of the Shadow Games and the vengeful spirit locked in her heart, all while struggling with inner demons she can no longer ignore.Skjaldmær, noun: shieldmaiden.
Relationships: Jounouchi Katsuya | Joey Wheeler & Mazaki Anzu | Tea Gardner, Mazaki Anzu | Tea Gardner & Mutou Yuugi
Comments: 80
Kudos: 37





	1. The More Things Change

**Author's Note:**

> I've been binging the original series for the first time, and while I enjoy it quite a bit, I can't help but to think that none of the girls have rights. Which, as a dedicated girl-liker, really sucks.
> 
> This fic aims to change that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Yesterday keeps comin' 'round, it's just reality  
It's the same damn song with a different melody"

There was something strange about school at night. The only way Anzu could describe it was that it felt like there should be wind whistling through the hallways, but there was only the sharply defined absence of humming electricity instead. The stale air and the complete lack of any other human inside the building was unsettling, yet it made Anzu feel at peace. Giving every hour of every day to school, work, and dance made Anzu appreciate what few moments of silence and isolation that she found.

In fact, dance practice was why she was roaming the empty halls of her school in the dead of night (okay, it was more like 8 PM, but it sure felt like the dead of night with how eerie the building was at that hour). All the world may be a stage and its men and women merely players, but that didn't mean that Anzu Mazaki could practice wherever she wanted. With the walls of the apartment too thin to so much as ballet without annoying the neighbors and tutors too expensive for her mother to afford, Anzu wasn't left with many options other than to use the school as a venue after hours. And yes, there wasn't a demand for a dance club. Anzu checked.

She got permission, of course! Kinda. As far as the teachers are concerned, Anzu was doing a cursory sweep of the school to make sure that there weren't any thugs using the unattended building for illicit activities wait was that Jounouchi in the pool.

The splash as he dove into the water was what drew Anzu's attention. Peering out the window, Anzu gawked as the delinquent came up gasping for air, steeled himself, and once more submerged. Again. And again. And again. 

Anzu was too stupefied by the spectacle to do anything but watch Jounouchi for a full minute. Then she remembered that, technically, she had a job to do. Bracing herself for whatever nonsense Jounouchi was indulging in, Anzu made her way down to the pool. The brisk night air mixed with the overpowering scent of chlorine was almost refreshing. 

Almost. It certainly didn't make up for what Anzu was going to have to deal with, in her opinion. 

She was on the verge of becoming legitimately concerned for Jounouchi's health right when the idiot breached the surface, something shiny and golden clutched in his hand. It looked kind of like... Anzu narrowed her eyes, suspicions growing by the second. "Hello, Jounouchi," she said, voice cool as ice.

"Ghk-" Jounouchi flailed in the water, almost sending himself plummeting under in his panic. "M-Mazaki! What're you doing here?"

"School business." Not a lie. Technically. Anzu folded her arms and Jounouchi flinched again. What was up with him? He normally had a little more backbone than this. "The more relevant question is why are  _ you  _ here?"

Jounouchi froze. "I- uh. Er. I'm taking a dip, of course! The air nice and bracing this time of night, yeah?"

Pinching the bridge of her nose, Anzu said, "Jounouchi, I do not have time for this. Try again. And please don't lie to me this time, or I will report you to the principal for trespassing."

"I..." His shoulders slumping, Jounouchi looked away from Anzu. The effect of his pathetic, kicked-puppy posture would've been more pronounced if most of his body wasn't underwater. "You know Yugi?"

The look Anzu shot him could've curdled milk.

"Right, uh. Stupid question. You were literally right there." He laughed weakly. "So, um. You also saw me and Honda messing with his weird box during lunch yesterday. Well, er. We- no, I- kinda took one of the pieces out of it and... tossed it... into the pool..."

Anzu gaped at Jounouchi, dumbstruck. Why would he even- wait, she could totally see him doing it for no reason. Never mind. 

"I was angry, okay!" Jounouchi drew back in on himself. "Not at Yugi. At that damn Ushio. Stupid lousy bullying narc. I just. Needed to break, or, uh, throw something after he threatened me and Honda like that. But then he cornered us after school this afternoon, and..." 

That's when Anzu noticed the bruise on his cheek. She hissed through her teeth. "Jounouchi..."

"Then the sick fu- bas- asshole brought Yugi over so he could 'get revenge' on us for the high crime of teasing him a little! But instead, Yugi protected us, saying that we were his friends. He actually put himself between us and Ushio's fists. I didn't even know he had it in him." Jounouchi growled, and Anzu could almost see his knuckles whitening with anger. "And after all that, Ushio beat him up and told Yugi to cough up a protection fee in return! I just... with what he did for us, I couldn't-" He sighed, dragging a hand down his face. "Look. I figured the least I could do was to get his little trinket back to him, alright? So, if you'll excuse me," grunting with effort, Jounouchi pulled himself out of the pool and pocketed the puzzle fragment he'd been holding in his hand. "I've got an errand to run."

Jounouchi, still sopping wet, walked towards the exit with hands stuffed deep in his pockets. He tried to pop his collar back up, but it wilted under the weight of the water. Anzu followed after him, concern lining her face. "Hold up! I... if Yugi really got hurt today, then I need to make sure he's okay. We'll deliver the puzzle piece together." Beat. "Plus I've got to keep an eye on you so you don't lose it like the total dunce you are."

Jounouchi startled, scowling. "Hey! I'm no dunce! I found the thing all by myself, didn't I?"

"Right. What a genius you are for nearly drowning yourself looking in random places for the thing like you were bobbing for apples."

They sniped at each other all the way to Kame Game, their bickering keeping them warm through the chilly night.

When they reached Sugoroku's shop, Jounouchi froze, clenching the puzzle piece in his pocket. "I. Uh. Here!" He thrust the gleaming metal towards Anzu. "You take it to Yugi. I just remembered that I have a thing and-"

"Jounouchi."

"I look like a total thug and I'm super beat up right now and I don't want Yugi's gramps to think that I got into a fight with his kid-"

" _ Jounouchi. _ "

"And I- ugh, it would just feel weird looking Yugi in the eye so soon after he got in trouble with Ushio because of me, alright?"

Anzu huffed and reached for the puzzle piece. "Fine. If you're going to be such a wimp-"

"Who're you calling a wimp!" Jounouchi retracted his hand. "I'll give it to him myself!" Muttering under his breath, Jounouchi wrenched the door open and stomped into Kame Game.

Rolling her eyes, Anzu walked after him and waved at the old man napping at the counter. "Hello, Mr. Mutou!" 

Sugoroku jolted out of his sleep. "Ah. Ah, Anzu! What brings you in-" As soon as his eyes alighted on Jounouchi, his eyebrows rocketed towards his somehow-intact hairline. "What in the blazes happened to you, boy? Anzu, are you consorting with thugs?"

"S'nothing. I just fell down some stairs." Jounouchi rubbed his neck and looking away. "We, uh. Got a thing for Yugi."

"Jounouchi found something of his at school." Anzu said, glancing up at the stairs that led to the Mutou household proper. If Yugi was hurt as badly as Jounouchi said, she might have to show that punk a thing or two herself. Somehow. Considering that she's way shorter and not nearly as muscly as Ushio, Anzu wasn't sure she could take him in a fight, but still.

Sugoroku perked up, eyes twinkling. "Oho! By all means, come in, come in!" He shuffled up the stairs, gesturing for Jounouchi and Anzu to follow. "Honestly, I'm quite worried about the poor boy. He came home quite banged up, you see, and he could really use some friends to..."

"GAH!" All three jumped at the squeak of distress that erupted from Yugi's room. "Where is it, where is it, where is it, c'monc'monc'mon..." Jonouchi and Anzu stared at one another for a moment before they nodded and sprinted up the stairs in perfect unison, barging into Yugi's room.

"Yugi, are you-"

"Hey, bud, you-" 

Hair disheveled, Yugi looked up at his two friends from his position on the floor of his room. It looked like a whirlwind swept through it, tossing the entire room into disarray. "Anzu! And... Jounouchi? I- whatever, I need help I lost the final piece of the Millenium Puzzle and I got so close to completing it and I swear I had it just yesterday and-"

"Actually..." Anzu locked eyes with Jounouchi, jerking her head towards Yugi.

Shuffling forward, Jounouchi held out the puzzle piece towards Yugi. "I found it at school." Anzu glared at Jounouchi. "In the pool." Wow, her stare could probably melt steel beams. "That I threw it in."

Yugi took the piece from Jounouchi reverently, eyes sparkling with emotion. Wait, no, those were actual tears. "Jounouchi... you searched all of the pool just to get this back?"

The only reason why Anzu bit her tongue about Jounouchi being the one to put it there in the first place is because Yugi was obviously having an emotionally vulnerable moment and she didn't want to ruin it. 

"Heh, yeah, that was pretty impressive, wasn't it?" Blushing, Jounouchi smiled wide and giggled like a schoolgirl. Anzu's eye twitched. 

Yugi laughed with him, wiping a tear from his eye. Getting up, he walked over to his desk, where the almost-intact Millenium Puzzle waited. Something about his steps seemed to reverberate through the room, making Anzu's hair stand on end. Yugi reached towards the puzzle, poised to finally complete it... then stopped. "I guess my wish did come true after all, even without the puzzle," he whispered to himself. "Anzu. Do you want to make a wish?"

"Huh?"

"Well..." Yugi shuffled his feet, blushing. "I know you have a dream that you're working really hard for. Not like me or Jounouchi."

"Hey!"

Yugi ignored Jounouchi's protests. "You need a wish to be granted way more than either of us. So..." He presented Anzu with the puzzle. 

"Yugi, I don't know what to say, I..." This felt wrong in a way that Anzu couldn't describe. Like it wasn't supposed to happen.

Jounouchi kicked the floor, grumbling "I was the one who found it in the first place, you know."

"Oh, shut it." Anzu rolled her eyes and took the Millenium Puzzle, whatever hesitation she had dispelled by Jounouchi's whining. "Alright. So it just goes right... here?" 

The last piece clicked into place, and Anzu closed her eyes, wishing with all her might.  _ I wish... I wish for the strength to achieve my dreams!  _

Everything was black for a moment, howling wind rushing through the room. Her head hurt. What... this didn't... this didn't feel right, what was...

"Anzu! Anzu, are you okay?" 

Yugi's voice snapped Anzu (yes, that was her name) back to reality. He and Jounouchi were staring at her, eyes wide. Almost like they were scared of- wait, was her forehead glowing? Of course, of course it was.

Willing the Eye of Wdjat to disappear, Anzu attempted to laugh disarmingly. It didn't have the intended effect. "Ho ho. Rest assured, Yugi, I am perfectly well. If anything, I feel better than ever." There. That was a normal human thing to say. Probably. 

"R-Right..." Yugi gulped as Anzu strung the Millenium Puzzle around her neck. Something was wrong, she realized. He was wounded, but it was more than that. Far more. She peered deeper, Seeing behind his eyes, and... oh, what injustice! What cruelty to inflict on one of her good,  _ good _ friends.

Something had to be done. "Apologies, Yugi, but I'm afraid I must cut this short," she said, stiff, as she turned around and began to walk down the stairs. "It was a pleasure meeting you." Er. "Meeting with you, rather."

Jounouchi leaned, to the side, whispering theatrically in Yugi's ear. "You have any idea what's up with the broad?" Of course, Anzu could hear him. 

"Don't call her that! And... I don't know. She's never acted like this before. I wonder..."

Anzu paused on her way down the stairs. "Actually, I do have one favor to ask." Yugi paused, a lead ball settling in his stomach at her words. "Can I use your phone?"

* * *

"Hello, Ushio."

When the voice echoed out from the darkness of the alleyway, it sounded—no,  _ felt—like  _ a tomb; ancient and pitch black, with a strange purring cadence that he could feel in his bones. But Tetsu Ushio was too preoccupied with getting his damn money to concern himself with petty things like fear. 

If anything, he was pissed at this person's theatrics. First the phone call promising the cash Yugi owed him and directions to some dingy street in the city that hung up before he could get any answers. Then the ten minute wait while whoever this clown was took his sweet time arriving here. Now the B-movie horror acting? Ushio was done with this drama queen. 

"I'm not going to play along with your stupid supervillain schtick. If you have the money, hand it over now, or else you'll be using it to pay for Yugi's hospital bill. With interest." Ushio punched his palm, grin widening. The perfect threat. He doubted that anyone could top a line as ice-cold as that.

"Ho ho. Of course." A paper bag flew out of the shadows. Ushio caught it, ripped it open, and nearly salivated at the sum inside. "But if you are interested in doubling your 'just' reward for defending Yugi so courageously... I have the perfect offer for you."

Ushio's head snapped towards where he thought he could hear the voice coming from. "You for real? What do I have to do?"

"It's a simple game, really. A test of courage. It shouldn't be any issue for someone as valorous as yourself." Ushio couldn't see it, but he could feel the voice's smile. It was like a razor.

"Heh... interesting. I'm down." It wasn't even a question. If there was another ¥200,000 on the line, there was no way Ushio could pass that opportunity up. Even if it came from a freaky voice from the shadows.

The voice's chuckle sent ice up Ushio's spine. "Excellent. There is one condition, though!" Heels clicking on pavement turned his attention to the young woman walking out of the darkness, holding her hand out. The bulky pendant around her neck seemed to bend the world around it, like it was black hole slowly drawing space into itself. Everything about her was sharp in a way that he couldn't quite describe. It set his teeth on edge. "You must accompany me down the alley during the test. Only once you arrive at the end with me at your side will you gain your reward. And if you break the rules, a Penalty Game awaits you!"

"Done." As soon as she was in range, Ushio grabbed her wrist and yanked her towards him. "I don't know what you're playing at, but I don't care about whatever little scheme you have up your sleeve. I will kill you if I don't get my money." She looked familiar—one of Yugi's friends, he thought—but something was off. It was almost as if she bled into the shadows. But that didn't concern him. He was getting that yen tonight, no matter what. Sure, he could probably shank her, or just bolt and grab the cash at the end of the alley, but where was the fun in that? His pride as a man was at stake!

She bowed gracefully, gesturing with her free hand towards the yawning darkness of the alleyway. "After you." Ushio didn't need her to tell him a second time. He strode into the shadows, chest puffed as he dragged Anzu (that was her name!) behind him. 

When Ushio passed the threshold, the temperature dropped ten degrees. Even Anzu's hand was cold, as if he was holding a corpse. The darkness was so complete that we couldn't even see his breath fog in front of him. When they walked into the alleyway, the shadows seemed to swallow everything. Only the black remained.

Ushio stood there for a moment, frozen. It wasn't that he was scared. Not at all! It was just that, that... he was waiting for his vision to adjust! Yeah! But half a minute passed and everything was still pitch black.

"Tick tock." Anzu's whisper echoed through the claustrophobic alley. Her mockery lit a spark in Ushio's belly, and he gripped that warmth with all of his might. Growling, he stepped forward. Right foot. Left foot. Right foot. Left foot. 

Soon he settled into a rhythm. It was easier to keep moving if he concentrated on moving one foot in front of the other than on the oppressive darkness and cold. But at the halfway point, he realized something that seemed to drive the temperature down even further: his footsteps weren't making a sound. There was only the steady clicking of Anzu's heels.

That's when the noises started.

They were subtle, at first. A metallic clang that was obviously a trash can falling down. (Obviously.) The whispering of the wind. (Right?) Yet the more Ushio concentrated on them, looked for abnormalities, the more distorted they began. Slithering. Skittering. Laughter. (Right? Right. He wasn't imagining things. He couldn't be!)

Then Ushio felt something brush against his leg, and he ran. Slipping free of Anzu's hand—when had she reversed the grip?—he sprinted down the alley, relief flooding him as he heard his shoes break through rotten wood and crunch soda cans. When he reached the end of the alley, the lights flickered on, and there was his money sitting atop a stack of cardboard boxes. He reached for it, and...

Ushio's knees buckled. His stomach flipped, turned, did the loop-de-loop, and a variety of other colorful synonyms for crippling nausea. Wheezing, he fell flat on his back. And there was that damnable clicking again. Step by step, Anzu stalked towards him, her grin splitting her face in two. Ornamenting her brow like a crown was a stylized, golden eye, blazing brighter than the sun.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, Ushio."

_ Click _ .

"It appears that you've forgotten the rules of this Shadow Game."

_ Click _ .

"You objective wasn't to reach the end of the hallway and take the yen."

_ Click. _

"It was to escort me there, like the brave knight you claim to be."

_ Click. _

"But it seems that your cowardice outweighed your false 'valor.'"

_ Click. _

"Did you really think that demons and monsters were plotting your demise in the shadows, Ushio? Ho ho, that's preposterous!"

_ Click. _

"They were nothing but the delusions of your fear-addled mind..."

_ Click. _

"And now you will be trapped within the illusion of both bravery and self-made terror."

_ Click!  _ Jabbing her finger at Ushio, Anzu declared, "PENALTY GAME: Shining Armor!" The world twisted and warped into purple mist, and then... gravity righted itself, and Ushio was standing once more.

But he couldn't move. Every inch of him was encased in shining steel, blinding in its brilliant sheen. It wasn't blinding enough, though. Between the slits in his helmet, Ushio could see... shapes that were impossible for his brain to understand. Fangs and claws and horns sharp enough to tear through space itself. And so. Many. Eyes.

He screamed as the monsters descended upon him, ripping at the seams of his immovable armor. And the only "person" that heard him was the thing calling itself Anzu Mazaki, walking away feeling nothing but satisfaction.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "I didn't mean to cause a scene  
But I guess it's time to roll up our sleeves"


	2. The Party (Round and Round, Let the City Turn)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "And those 9-5s  
You gotta say bye-bye"

"Mazaki, for the last time, you can't wear that god damn amulet to work!"

"But-"

"No 'buts.'" Anzu's manager loomed over her, annoyance radiating off him. "Even if it fit regulation, the eye wigs people out. You know how many complaints I got about it?"

"Sir-"

"None, but the moment I do, you're fired! Lose the necklace or lose the job, Mazaki. Your choice. But seeing as you at least bothered to come in today, you're covering for that lazy ass Nagisa. Here's your schedule.  _ Now get to work!  _ " Shoving a piece of paper into Anzu's hands, the ogre of a man stormed off in a huff, muttering under his breath.

Anzu stood there for a moment, dazed. "I don't have... it..." Her breath caught as she realized that the now-familiar weight of the Millenium Puzzle indeed hung around her neck. How had she not realized she was still wearing it? No, scratch that, when did she even put it on?

As soon as Yugi gave the amulet to Anzu, things got  _ weird.  _ First she blacked out after completing the puzzle and woke up feeling like she took a hike across town. Then when she went to school that day, Yugi and Jounouchi acted skittish around her, like they were afraid she was going to explode. A day later, she heard the news about Ushio being hospitalized after being found unresponsive in some dingy alleyway downtown. And then there were her dreams...

Taking off the amulet, Anzu contemplated tossing the artifact out the window. Forget granting her wishes; it felt like the Millenium Puzzle cursed her instead.

Yet... Anzu couldn't get rid of it. The puzzle meant so much to Yugi—he spent eight years putting the puzzle together! She wouldn't be able to look him in the eyes if she threw it away or hocked it to a vendor. And if there really was a curse... it was silly, but Anzu couldn't bear the thought of it being passed on to poor, sweet, dear, innocent, precious Yugi in her stead. 

So she was at an impasse with an inanimate object. Instead of getting to work. Which meant that her boss was going to yell at her even more. Great. Sighing, Anzu stuffed the puzzle under her shirt. She didn't trust anybody working at Burger World enough to leave it in the break room, and considering how skimpy the uniform was, there wasn't any other place to hide it.

Being a greeter was mind-numbing work. A cavalcade of soulless, cheerful hellos, a carefully-crafted speech that was probably physically burned into her brain at this point, the same exact number of steps from the entrance to the waiting area to the table and back again and to the waiting area... but as mindless as the job was, it played to Anzu's strengths: being peppy and enthusiastic and ever-so-slightly firm and able to hold back rising tides of pure rage in- okay, maybe she wasn't as good at repressing her anger as she should be, but at least there was generally enough time between customers for her to properly stew. Regardless, after a few minutes the routine melted together into an unconscious blur.

"Hell~o! Welcome to Burger World!" Which is why it took a few seconds for Anzu to recognize Jounouchi and Yugi when they arrived. "Let me show you to..." Anzu's thoughts came to a screeching halt as her joints locked in place, "your..." if she wasn't too busy panicking, Anzu would've slapped Jounouchi for the look on his face, "seats..."

Anzu slid inside, paralyzed by fear. Her dreams, shattered, all because of... because of  _ Jounouchi _ , that little cocky b- a- delinquent, if he decided to report her to the principal for giggles! Anzu's fury overtook her terror just in time for Yugi and Jounouchi to follow her into the restaurant. Anzu grabbed them by their collars, marched them to an empty booth, and forced them into their seats before stomping into the kitchen.

It was a wonder that the burgers Anzu made for the boys were as professional as they were, really. They looked good even when she spelled out a death threat on their tray! Now  _ that's  _ technique. 

That got her point across. Yugi and Jounouchi looked terrified into silence, so she could ignore them for the rest of the shift and do her job. She nearly did just that, turning around to walk back to the entrance. But she couldn't help but feel like she owed them an explanation. Especially since Yugi somehow knew she had a dream that she was desperately working to achieve, and gave her the Millenium Puzzle to help her. 

Anzu took a deep breath, bracing herself. "Well, now that you know I'm working here, I have nothing else to hide." She looked back at them, putting on her best smile. "I'm saving up money. I'm going to America when I graduate." The look on their faces said it all. She could already imagine Jounouchi's halfwitted jibes filling the restaurant. "I'm going to study dance in New York. It's my dream, so don't you dare laugh!"

As Yugi stammered out assurances, Jounouchi's cocky delinquent smirk turned into something softer. Giving her a thumbs-up, he said, "Don't worry, Anzu. We won't tell on you! Hell, I'd eat 10,000 of those burgers before I'd narc on a buddy." The butterflies in Anzu's stomach migrated to her heart, flapping with relieved elation for all of five seconds before Jounouchi ruined it with his complaining. "But does this restaruant make you pay for burgers drowned in ketchup? Man, this stuff's nasty." 

Anzu rolled her eyes as she turned on her heel to return to her post. "Don't worry; those are on me." Everybody else mocked her whenever she confessed her dream to them. It was too farfetched. A child's fantasy. Too costly, which was always the issue in the Mazaki household. But these two... Maybe Jounouchi wasn't as rotten as Anzu had thought at first. Then again, she could practically feel him ogling her as she walked back towards the entrance.

Anzu was so consumed with gratitude and other warm, fuzzy feelings that she didn't notice the man's gun. Then the darkness that had been fraying at the edge of her consciousness (conscience?) surged, swallowing her whole, everything went black in a blink of an eye-

-and when the blink was over, she woke up. Cold, and hard, and sharp, and  _ furious _ . 

"-fold yourself with this ribbon," he hissed in her ear, the prisoner's deranged rant revealing the diseased rot in his soul. There was no redemption for this fool. Only release into the afterlife could cure him. 

She tied the blindfold around her eyes with a snap that she knew made him flinch. Made him fearful, for a reason he couldn't describe. She hid her smile under shadows as she let him lead her to the booth. As the criminal barked orders at Yugi, Anzu said, "Say. Why don't we play a game to pass the time?"

"What did I say about talking, bitch?" he snarled, and she could feel his spirit curl with sickening rage and a delicious hint of nervousness as he jabbed the revolver into her ribs.

"Ho ho ho." There. That was a womanly thing to do. Right? Laugh like a noble? "It's only a simple game. Easily won by a man of your luck. Spin the Bottle."

"But the vodka's-"

"We'll use your gun instead."

Her own fearlessness planted seeds of fear in his soul, and it only fueled his mania. "DON'T FUCKING INTERRUPT ME!" 

"Of course, of course. Now, whoever the barrel of the gun points to loses. If I lose, you get to do  _ whatever  _ you want with me. And if you lose..." She left the sentence hanging, gently nourishing the unease in his heart. 

He snickered. "You know what? Sure, fine. Fine." The deceit was an ugly, glistening thing. Ripe for the harvesting. "This'll be the perfect opportunity to show ALL of you what happens if you don't listen to me!" He slammed the revolver onto the table with enough force that it was a wonder that it didn't go off then and there.

"Three."

She could feel his heart flutter with twisted anticipation.

"Two."

Did she have a pulse?

"One."

She didn't know, and she couldn't find it within herself to care.

"Spin."

The gun spun like a top, round and round and round and round... it stopped, pointing at the seat. "It appears that we must try again. Are you ready?"

He didn't notice that there was no way she could've seen where the barrel was aimed at. "Grrrr... you get to live for  _ one more spin! _ My luck'll get you this time!"

"Ho ho ho." She could see that no matter where the gun stopped, he would proclaim victory and aim for her heart. Tch. Fool. "We shall see."

"Three."

No one could escape her judgment.

"Two."

No one could escape her wrath.

"One."

No one could escape her punishment.

"Spin!"

For the criminal, the next few seconds seemed to last a lifetime. Ever so slowly, the gun lost momentum. Then it halted, barrel facing towards him. 

Sweat beaded on his brow. "HA! You lose, little girl!" The sweet stench of his panicked lie was delectable. With trembling fingers, he reached for the revolver, and she shifted in her seat to face him directly. 

_ Bang _ . 

"Ha... ha! Ha..." He looked down at the hole in his chest. "But... but my... my luck..." The criminal slumped over, dead. Not minding the stains on her uniform, she got up and took off the blindfold.

The Millenium Puzzle wasn't even scratched. 

She let out a deep breath, closing her eyes and retreating into the darkness-

-and when Anzu opened them, blood was all over her shirt. Yugi and Jounouchi stared at her, jaws agape in horror and awe. The world went blurry, and Mazaki Anzu lost consciousness.

* * *

After she came to, Anzu quit her job.

Her boss begged her to stay. Apparently, the publicity of having the "hero waitress" work at his establishment was more than enough for him to ignore the supposedly rancid vibes of the Millenium Puzzle. But the pungent smell of iron that still lingered on the booths and the deep, sick feeling Anzu got in her gut whenever she looked at the cherry-red leather of the seats were effective counterarguments to his proposal. 

Jounouchi and Yugi took the ordeal well, all things considered. Jounouchi raved about how cool and totally badass Anzu was for taking on that scum all by herself, and Yugi was... well, he was Yugi. Sometimes quiet, but supportive and enthusiastic in an endearingly dorky way. It was almost enough to make Anzu feel good about the incident. Convince her that she really was in control of herself, that the blank spot in her memory was just a stress-induced blackout.

_ Almost _ . Anzu still caught Yugi sneaking glances at the puzzle hanging from her neck like a lead weight (or a noose, when she was feeling particularly grim). She still found herself wearing it even when she was sure that she'd left it on her dresser. Some mornings, she woke up with the Millenium Puzzle already resting on her ribcage, the weight of the amulet pressing down on her chest and making it hard to breathe. 

And the dreams... of darkness. Blood. A cavernous, slumbering, ancient wrath deep within her. A deep sensation of wrongness, like she's not supposed to be here. Be  _ this _ . Like her body was a puppet with ill-fitting strings. The details dissipated in the morning light, but that feeling of not fitting together quite right haunted Anzu through all of her waking hours, along with fleeting memories of shadowy alleys and spinning revolvers. 

But as incredibly weird and unsettling all of that was, it was irrelevant to Anzu's current predicament. Groaning, she slumped over the desk in Yugi's room. In front of her was a classifieds article, with every job listing angrily crossed out in red pen.

_ "Thank you-" _

_ "you for contacting-" _

_ "checking, but-" _

_ "calling the firm, but-" _

_ "contacting the shop, but-" _

_ "it's a pity-" _

_ "I'm afraid-" _

_ "it's impossible, dear-" _

_ "we simply can't-" _

_ "take high schoolers." _

_ "I'm sorry." _

_ "We're sorry. _

_ "We apologize." _

_ "Have a nice day!" _

Fourteen open offers in the newspaper. Fourteen dead ends. Anzu screamed into the hard wood of Yugi's desk while Yugi hesitantly patted her on the back. "Don't worry, Anzu. I'm sure there will be new-"

Yugi bit his tongue as Anzu interrupted him. "It's pointless!" she said. "Anybody with half a brain knows that hiring a student from Domino High is way more trouble than it's worth. The only reason that I'm not already expelled is because I begged on my hands and knees for my manager to keep me anonymous to the papers, and who knows how long that'll last. And if I get expelled, there's no way I'll ever get into dance school in the States, never mind the fact that I'll be too destitute to move out of my parents' apartment!!"

"Well," Yugi tapped his chin. "Maybe you could work here?"

"What."

"I know that working in a small-time game shop isn't your first choice, but we really do need all the help we can get."

"No offense, Yugi, but this place doesn't get enough business for you two to- wait." Anzu squinted at Yugi. "Do you and your grandpa need help getting things off of high shelves?"

Yugi flushed red. "N-No! Um. Maybe. But that's besides the point. My grandpa really wants me to focus on my studies instead of helping him around the shop, and he is getting... you know. He really does need another pair of hands." 

She sat there for a moment, pondering the offer. On the one hand, Sugoroku was almost as bad as Jounouchi sometimes. On the other, like Jounouchi, Anzu was pretty sure she could intimidate him into compliance if he got too uppity. "You know what?" Anzu pried herself off the desk and dragged her hands down her face. Looking at the classifieds article one more time, she sighed. "Fine. It's not like I have any other options."

When they made their way downstairs and explained the situation to Sugoroku, his eyes lit up. "Of course, Ms. Anzu! I'd love to-"

"Look up my skirt and I  _ break _ you, Mr. Mutou."

"ANZU!"

And so began Anzu's tenure as an employee of Kame Game.

* * *

Working at Kame Game was a decent job. Even cushy, compared to the drudgery of being a Burger World employee. Every day after school, Anzu would commute to the store, put on her "uniform" (a hastily-printed t-shirt and a pair of cargo pants) in Yugi's bathroom, and rush to the basement to familiarize herself with the new stock while Sugoroku worked the counter. 

Since the shop itself had comparatively little space to store product, everything but the most popular games were kept in the stockroom below. Anzu had expected the basement to be musty and grey like its owner, but it was surprisingly well-maintained. The basement was packed end to end with more games that Sugoroku could sell in his remaining lifetime, and he constantly accumulated even more by buying copies of every new release a week before the games even came out. It was hard to believe that the basement was large enough to fit it all.

Sugoroku had catalogues of all of the games Kame Game had in storage scattered around the shop, and when a customer found something they wanted in one, he'd shout the order to Anzu. She'd hustle downstairs to find it among the sea of cardboard and bring it up as quickly as she could. The often-ridiculous weight of the games themselves combined with the need for speed made for good exercise. 

While it would be more efficient for Anzu to stay in the stockroom, Sugoroku insisted that she was to be upstairs as much as possible to help customers in case he was busy —although Anzu was certain that the real reason was to have some eye candy visible from the storefront to lure in the predominantly male patrons of Kame Game. Which is why she made an effort to be as unhelpful to them as possible while still being polite enough to not draw Sugoroku's ire.

Despite Anzu's initial doubts, Kame Game did brisk business and she was kept busy all through her six-hour shift. In the rare lulls when the store was empty save for Anzu and the Mutous, Anzu did her homework and badgered Sugoroku about the plethora of games he sold. Although it was mostly a way to kill time, Anzu grew genuinely curious about gaming as she spent more and more afternoons working at Kame Game. It was probably a knock-on effect from spending so many hours in a game shop.

_ ("It's a simple game, really." _

_ "PENALTY GAME!" _

_ "Why don't we play a game to pass the time?") _

Probably. 

During one of her breaks, Anzu found herself idly toying with the chain around her neck. The artifact seemed quiet that day, for lack of a better term. Like it was sleeping. So it felt safe to ask a question that had been on her mind for a little while.

"Mr. Mutou," Anzu said as she slaved away at Ms. Chono's English homework, "I'm curious; where did you get the puzzle?"

"Oho, I'm glad you're taking an interest in the business! We purchase jigsaws from-"

Anzu rolled her eyes, tapping the Millenium Puzzle. "I meant  _ the _ puzzle."

"Ah." Sugoroku stared into the middle distance. A fond smile unfolded on his craggy face as he brushed the tops of the Duel Monsters cards in the box he was cataloguing. "It was a long,  _ long _ time ago. I was quite the sprightly young fellow back then, you know?" 

Anzu was skeptical, but she kept her mouth shut.

"You wouldn't believe the scrapes I got into, ho ho!" Something about his laugh sent shivers down Anzu's spine. "I was something of a professional adventurer, you see. Plumbing ancient ruins, uncovering long-buried secrets... it was like something out of a movie! Ah, those were the days.

"I was touring Egypt when I was informed by the natives of a recently-discovered tomb in the Valley of Kings. Of course I eagerly took the opportunity to explore it, but it turned out to be a trick! Those scoundrels abandoned me in the catacomb to the traps, and even they didn't last long with the ancient pharaoh's wrath persecuting them through all the traps in there. Still, I pressed on, until I came to the final room.

"Before I could claim my prize, the floor opened up beneath me like a great maw. However, I didn't fall. Not for long, at any rate. Someone grabbed me and hauled me up to where the box sat. I didn't see their face, and I'm certain to this day that nobody else in the party survived."

"So you're saying-"

"IT WAS A GHOST! Ho ho ho." 

"...you're  _ sure  _ that's what actually happened?" Anzu said, voice gentle as she made a mental note to badger Yugi about getting Sugoroku into a doctor's office.

"Of course! Why would you doubt me, Ms. Anzu?"

"Well, it sounds like the plot of one of those movies from the West about the archaeologist-"

Sugoroku scoffed. "Pish posh!"

"-and you're getting on in your years-"

"You wound me!"

At that moment, a crowd of rambunctious teens charged through the door, all clad in leather jackets and in ragged jeans. "Brace yourself, Ms. Anzu! We have hooligans!" Sugoroku whispered, and she nodded grimly. One, two, three, four, five, six, more... that was a  _ lot  _ of customers. 

Then Anzu realized what Sugoroku was worried about, and she sighed. "Mr. Mutou, they're not going to do anything bad."

"But-"

"They're just delinquents fooling around. Kind of like Jounouchi." Well, what Jounouchi used to be like. Thankfully, he stopped after making friends Yugi. Mostly. "Don't worry about it! I'll take care of them." Taking a deep breath, Anzu prepared her best Class Rep voice and walked towards the group, smiling bright. "Hell~o! Welcome to Kame Game! What can I help you all with?"

The leader, a shark-toothed teenager Anzu's age with a pompadour slightly more respectable than Honda's and snakebite piercings, grinned back. "'Ey, doll. We was all wonderin' what there is ta do for fun 'round here?"

Anzu tilted her head to the side, clapping her hands. The perfect host. "I'm glad you asked. We have a selection of all the hottest new games in the shop, but if you can't find anything that interests you, take a look at our catalogue! We have plenty of stock downstairs that has every kind of game imaginable for you to enjoy."

The leader's grin nearly split her face. "Aw, doll. Th' only thing I'm interested in playing with is you." She clapped her hand on Anzu's shoulder, cocking her head to the side to meet Anzu's eyes.

Anzu blushed from the contact and delicately pried the woman's hand off her shoulder. "If you'd like for me to demo a game of Duel Monsters for you, I can oblige." When in doubt, be as obtuse as possible.

Getting the message, the leader backed off, nodding and shoving her hands into her pockets. "Gotcha, doll. Anyways, believe it 'r not, we are here on legit business. Even delinquents have game nights, ya know. What's this Duel Monsters thing?"

Sugoroku relaxed, breathing a sigh of relief, and then came the busiest, most chaotic hour Anzu had ever spent at Kame Game. As much as the "hooligans" were there to buy product, they were also there to cause chaos as Sugoroku had suspected. But between Anzu's careful prodding and their leader's sharp looks, the damage was minimized.

Anzu did end up playing a few games with the gang's leader, using the structure decks provided for such an occasion. There was something electric in the air, something that Anzu couldn't quite identify. It coursed through her veins, filling her with a thrill like no other. It felt amazing, and Anzu wasn't sure she liked it. 

If the Millenium Puzzle was asleep before, it woke up the moment she touched her deck.

As the delinquents bid them farewell, Sugoroku snapped his fingers. "Right! I forgot something."

"Did you forget to ring them up for the ten booster boxes they got?"

"No, no, of course not. It's... well. Seeing you play that game with that lovely young lady reminded me of a detail about my Egyptian expedition. The carvings on the wall looked like Duel Monsters cards! Maybe that's why I got so attached to the game, ho ho."

Some wretched twisted in Anzu's gut. "Yeah... yeah, maybe." She was never, ever playing Duel Monsters again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "And the way she moves  
She got a bad attitude  
Nasty ways, but she makes it look cute"
> 
> The delinquents' leader canonically wears the stereotypical Japanese delinquent faux-uniform, but I couldn't stop thinking of her in: a snapback with "I'm sorry women" printed on the back (worn backwards), a shirt with "FBI" on the front and "Female Body Inspector" on the back, jean shorts with "Enemy of the State" on them, and socks with sandals. If I must bear this mental image, so shall all of you.


	3. Get Lonely

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "I will rise up early  
And dress myself up nice  
And I will leave the house  
And check the deadlock twice"
> 
> With my new writing schedule, chapters should start coming out with greater frequency. Thank you for reading along so far.

_ NEW THIS WEEK: Please welcome our newest columnist, Ms. Majo Asobi! Domino City's games industry has been booming ever since KaibaCorp made its surprising pivot to gaming, and Majo is here to "dish" all the "hottest" "goss" on the latest cultural phenomenon sweeping the province: tabletop gaming! Here in the Game Witch's Corner, she'll answer your questions, review all the latest and greatest games, and discuss the latest news about gaming. Take it away, Ms. Majo! _

_ I'd like to thank everyone in Domino Weekly for giving me this opportunity. Taking a risk on the proposal of an anonymous journalist takes a lot of guts and faith, so I promise I'll live up to your expectations. Writing this column will be as much of a journey for me as it is for all of you, and I'm excited to undertake it. _

_ This week's topic is about inclusivity in gaming spaces. I can already see many of you rolling your eyes at a woman "pushing her agenda" in her own column, and while that's a whole other can of worms, it's not what I'm here to talk about today.  _

_ What's drawn my attention this week is how gamers tend to shut out people who don't fit the classic mold of nerdy, ultra-committed intellectual bourgeoise from their communities. Two weeks ago, an incident with a "gang of hooligans" in my LGS got me thinking about this issue, and it's what inspired me to write this column in the first place... _

* * *

When she next awoke, the smell of cane sugar flooded from her nostrils. There was a distinct sourness beneath the sweet, a pungent, processed odor that made her gut churn. The last thing she could remember was inhaling a lungful of the same scent, the darkness rushing, overflowing, then fading- no. That wasn't quite right. The shadows overtook Anzu, and then coalesced, forming, swirling into... her. 

She could ponder that another time, though. Deep in her gut, she could feel the need to bring the quailing, pathetic gremlin in front of her to justice. Anzu had only seen him out of the corner of her eye for a moment, but she could feel the sickness in his heart as he stumbled back, shocked that his scheme failed. It was her duty to excise it, as the guardian of this soul she shared. (What did that even mean?)

The pitiful goblin of a boy took a step back, terrified. "W- how are you awake? That was enough chloroform to knock you out for a day!"

"I have my ways." She dusted some nonexistent dust off her shoulderpad—that reminded her, the uniform was  _ horrendous _ , she could barely stand wearing it—and turned to glare down at the boy. "Now. What, exactly, were you planning on doing with h- me?"

"P-please don't hurt me, I was going to treat you right, I was going to take you someplace where we could live in luxury forever!"

Her face split with a twisted grin. "Ohohoho." Now that sounded right. Getting that laugh down took practice. "If you wanted a date, you only needed to ask."

Kokurano—that was the tremulous wretch's name, the charlatan prophet that somehow still had girls flocking to him at every turn—stopped his trembling, eyes lighting up. "Really?"

"Of course. But first... you must play a game with me." She strolled to the cabinets, tugging them open and taking out a beaker. Examining it thoughtfully, she continued. "It's a trifle, truly." She placed the beaker next to the bottle of chloroform, idly tracing her fingers along its rim. "We each take turns pouring chloroform into this beaker. Whoever makes it spill first must do whatever the other wants. If you win, you sweep me off my feet and take me to your castle like the gallant sorcerer-prince you are. If I win..."

She snapped her arm towards Kokurano, making him flinch as her finger pointed at him accusingly. "You reveal to the school how much of a fraud you truly are!"

"GHK- I'm not a fraud!" The panic in Kokurano's soul, spreading to his eyes like a disease, begged to disagree. "And I'm not going to let you slander my powers either; when I'm through with you, you'll  _ wish _ that the chloroform knocked you out for good. Fine, let's do this!" 

It's a wonder that her smile didn't crack her face in two. "Ohohoho. Then I'll start." With one fluid motion, she picked up the bottle and poured it over the beaker, staring Kokurano in the eyes all the while. She could hear his heart fluttering like a frantic butterfly, already thrown off balance by her boldfaced accusation. 

"HA! Do you even want to win?" Kokurano said as he stared disbelievingly at the meager amount that she had poured into the beaker. Oh, what easy prey. "Or is this some elaborate act to get in my pants on your terms, you psychotic freak? Whatever. I'll show you how it's done." Convincing himself that he was confident in his victory, Kokurano snatched the bottle and recklessly splashed chloroform into the beaker, leaving barely a centimeter left until the top. "Your move."

Completely silent, she took the bottle and tipped it over the beaker, letting a scant drop free before passing it back to Kokurano. 

"What are you playing at?" He loosed a short stream from the bottle before thrusting it back at her.

Another silent drop.

Growling, Kokurano began matching her drop for drop, hands shaking. How delicious. 

Drip. Drip. Drip.

Only a millimeter left. With a single, decisive movement, she broke the pattern and filled the beaker to the very top. Sweat beaded on Kokurano's brow. Ten seconds passed. Then twenty. Thirty. Then, she finally spoke, leaning back in her chair and staring him directly in the eye. "If you truly know the future, Kokurano, you should know that this game is decided already."

"SHUT UP!" He gulped, squeezing his eyes shut. "Only I.. only I get to decide the future. And I predict that this is the exact amount that will keep the surface tension!" Taking in deep, shuddering breaths, Kokurano stared directly into the beaker from above. From that angle, it seemed like the beaker was endless, a shifting, terrible well of misfortune from which there was no escape.

Kokurano took another breath, desperately inhaling lungfuls of air. In, out. In, out.

Then he pitched backwards, eyes rolling up into the back of his head as he fell unconscious. Clicking her tongue, she looked down at Kokurano with wrath burning in her eyes. To attempt such a heinous thing... such a wicked man deserved only the worst punishment. The Eye of Wdjat burning bright on her forehead, filling the room with its fiery glow, she roared, "PENALTY GAME: Cassandra Sight!"

When Anzu came to, she somehow couldn't feel sorry at the sight of Kokurano splayed on the floor, his open jacket lined with dozens of false predictions.

Nor did she feel an ounce of pity when he was carted off to the hospital, ranting and raving about how he saw all, screeching about gods and monsters and the end times.

Nothing but the delusions of a lecherous idiot.

* * *

_ Q&A WIP - Notes: Sheesh, my editor really needs to do a better job of filtering these. A lot of the questions that are coming in are either a) really inane or b) really creepy. I'll harangue him about it when I get the chance. _

_ Q: What's your favorite game? _

_ A: This is kind of a silly answer, but Monster World! There are so many ways to put a campaign together, and if you use the same map tiles you can actually physically show the consequences of previous games. It's really neat; the only problem is keeping a campaign going. _

_ Q: hey doll, thanks for writing that article about us. we get kind of a bad rep round these parts, glad someone is willing to take our side. hmu sometime 905-5551-091 _

_ A: Mostly just keeping this here for posterity; there's no way I'm including it in the article proper. Hideo's number could be useful down the line, though... and it's nice to see that I'm making a difference. Will remove this in final draft. _

_ Q: Are you hot? _

_ A: Hotter than you and anyone you'll ever date, chump. _

_ Q: What's your playgroup like? _

_ A: It's mostly just me, the owner of the store I work at, and his grandson hanging out twice a week. Game nights are really chill, we just sit around, try out a bunch of weird stuff from the back of the stockroom, and play some Monster World. I'll admit that they're way better than me, but I'm learning a lot faster than either of them think. We all have a good time, though! _

_ Q: Are you single? _

_ A: Nope. - Note: I wish. It seems like every boy that I meet gets more and more disgusting as time goes by... _

* * *

There was something deeply, achingly lonely about the fairgrounds at night. A place meant to be filled with light and love and laughter, rendered devoid beneath the moonlight. She found it rather fitting. Almost... humorous? Was that the right word? Yes. Funny. She'll go with that for now.

She had been awake for the longest time since she punished that fool Ushio, and it afforded her some time to think about herself. Her place in Anzu's soul. She was sure of it now, she wasn't Anzu, not entirely. And the more time that she spent awake, the more certain she grew of that fact. She could feel her identity forming from the murky blackness, a blurry, uncertain thing that was a shadow cast by Anzu's brilliant light. But she was more than that, once. 

There was also one thing that she was certain of: she was not a  _ she _ . Her own identity was a hollow void, sculpted from her host's to a large extent; but while she didn't feel wrong, it didn't feel right either. But she didn't know what else to call herself. What was she, really? A ghost? A demon? A splinter of Anzu's mind, awoken by her anger? These questions troubled her- no. Not "her." A "they" would do for now.

They were awoken from their reverie by the heavy thud of leather boots approaching the wreckage of Anzu's carnival booth, accompanied by the odor of mild irritation and smug satisfaction. They were given to understand that Inogashira's dress was meant to indicate a certain level of honor and manliness in this society, but the way he ran roughshod over Anzu's friends—putting Yugi in the infirmary, no less!—and bulldozed over what they had worked so hard to build for the school festival was unforgivable for a man of his stature. This trespass could not stand.

Inogashira loomed over them, smirking. "Have you come to beg for forgiveness for daring to steal our spot, Mazaki?"

"No." They matched him tooth for tooth. "I've come to play a game with you." Their calm confidence sent a shiver of fear down Inogashira's spine.

"Oh? And what's in it for me?"

"Double or nothing!" they yelled. "If you win, my class will help you prepare the okonomiyaki you destroyed our booth for. If I win, we get our booth back."

The insolence made Inogashira simmer with a fiery rage, and they could tell that he was millimeters away from slapping them. "Really. And what kind of game would this be?"

They snatched a bundle of six carrots from the grocery bag at their feet with one hand and retrieved a pair of knives with the other, presenting them to Inogashira. "Simple. Whoever can slice three of these carrots into millimeter-thick slices the fastest wins."

Inogashira's insufferable aura of smugness returned. "AHAHAHAHAHA! You know what? Fine, kid. Let me show you what happens when you challenge an upperclassman!"

"Ohohoho." Regardless of the tangled, enshadowed mess that was their true identity, they remained quite fond of that laugh. "Then let us begin." Gesturing inside the half-rebuilt carcass of the booth (despite the lack of a door), they walked inside after Inogashira grabbed three carrots and a knife, nearly knocking them to the ground with the force. 

Inogashira waited on the opposite side of the cool grill, his invulnerable smirk still on his face. "On your mark."

"Begin." They immediately set to work, calmly and methodically slicing the carrot. No sense in rushing, after all. Haste was the fool's path. By contrast, Inogashira took to the contest like a demon, chopping his carrots apart with brutal strength as he sent a death glare across the table.

Despite the brisk night air, it felt like it was sweltering inside the booth. They resisted the urge the wipe the sweat from their brow, watching as it dripped upon the griddle and began sizzling. Wait, wh- Their eyes widened as they realized that the griddle was radiating searing heat, burning the carrot as they were cutting into it. Inogashira's widening grin told them all that they needed to know. If they had put their hand on the griddle instead of the carrot to stabilize their cuts...

They narrowed their eyes and began slicing with renewed intensity, vision fading to nothing except the blade in their fingers, the vegetable before them, and the task they needed to accomplish. Hands a blur, they cut and cut and cut and  _ cut _ , pouring all their latent wrath into their target as the heat only intensified, reddening their skin from just being near it. Each clink of the knife as it slammed into the griddle was a step towards victory, each slice of carrot a trophy. 

And yet, as they reached for their second carrot, they realized that Inogashira was almost on his third. Unless something changed, they were going to lose, and condemn their classmates to working under that lout and his cronies—not to mention whatever he was planning on doing with Anzu. 

Fine. If Inogashira was going to play dirty, so were they.

"Pathetic," they said, casual even as their knife danced dangerously close to their fingers.

Inogashira startled, snarling. "...what did you say?"

"You're pathetic. Really, I would've expected an upperclassman to have beaten a lowly, foolish young girl at such a contest by now. Especially considering that this is  _ supposed  _ to be your specialty." Locking eyes with Inogashira, they carefully gauged his reaction, taking in the rising tide of unadulterated anger as he huffed and puffed, red in the face. It was a wonder that his knife wasn't lodged in the griddle with how hard he was cutting. Just a little further...

"You better stop talking right now, or I'll-"

"What? Get your henchmen to beat me up because you don't want to get your hands dirty? All because of an insignificant patch of asphalt?" 

"YOU _ - _ " The harsh clangs from the impact of his cuts echoed into the empty night.

They clapped their hand to the side of their face, gasping in false shock. "Oh, I get it now! You're afraid that if you don't have the best spot in the fair, you'll lose the only thing that separates you and your followers from a gang of common thugs."

" _ I'LL KILL Y... _ " Inogashira kept chopping for a few seconds, red hot adrenaline pumping through his veins. Then it dawned on him that he wasn't hacking through a carrot; rather, he was slicing through bone. 

The flesh of his hand sizzled as it pressed onto the griddle, Inogashira's fingers amputated in his carelessness. He looked at it for a moment, shocked, before screaming incoherent but still gruesome death threats and throwing the knife at them.

The knife flew through the air in an elegant, silver arc. Inogashira's throw would be a beautiful thing in its rage-filled perfection had it not been threatening Anzu's life. Watching it come closer and closer in the span of a second, they grabbed it without even blinking. Then, calm as could be as Inogashira's pained yells assaulted their ears, they finished the task, using the second knife to steady the first as they sliced through the last carrot. 

"You've lost, Inogashira." Incredulous screams were his only response. Not that it mattered. They slowly lifted their arm, pointing directly at his chest. "PENALTY GAME: Into the Frying Pan!"

While Inogashira's agonized howling intensified as the burning sensation spread across his entire body, his mind conjuring a massive grill that  _ he _ was being cooked on, they turned around and began the walk back to Anzu's house. 

Something told them that she wouldn't want to see this.

* * *

_ ...in conclusion, while many of the new options present in the DIREST DUNGEON expansion of Monster World are a welcome addition to an experienced Dark Master's toolbox, that's just what they are for: experienced DMs. If mishandled, the balance of the game is completely disrupted—especially with the new Dark Master Avatar packages. Veterans may enjoy the new challenges posed by these add-ons to their nemeses, but considering that taking on the Avatar is already considered a task of titanic proportions, keep it away from new players who are just learning the rules of the game.  _

_ However, the new promotions available for PCs level 10 and up provide intriguing new directions for players of all levels of experience. I'm certainly looking forward to my Diabolist reclassing into Dark Knight when the time comes!  _

_ Overall, I'm giving DIREST DUNGEON a solid 4 brooms out of 5. While it's a very strong product when used by its target audience, it doesn't make it clear enough that it's only intended for veteran players on the box and it may cause some newbies some undue pain.  _

_ Now, before I go, I'd like to thank everyone who wrote in over the course of the last three weeks! I'm flattered that you all enjoy my column enough to keep reading through my ramblings, and it warms my heart to see its readership growing. _

_ Until next time,  _

_ Majo Asobi _

As the rain pounded outside, pummeling the walls of the apartment complex with measured brutality, Anzu finished the draft of her latest column with a final flourish of her pen. Three weeks. It was strange to think about. Despite only having had her job at Kame Game for ten days when she wrote in to Domino Weekly with her idea for a new column, she somehow managed to land the position and got a little extra pocket money as a consequence. Which went straight from her pocket into her savings. 

Life had settled into an easy rhythm. Wake up, go to school, rush to the store, work, play games, get back home to find that her parents were pulling an all-nighter  _ again _ , sleep, occasionally lose consciousness for a worryingly long period of time and find that another classmate (albeit one who's always been a complete jackass) was severely injured and had fallen prey to madness...

But as much as the lost time and its implications disturbed Anzu, she found that she was liking her new lifestyle more and more. Being a ruthlessly efficient gamer was a good way to vent her anger and distract herself from her worries about the puzzle, and the alone time in Kame Game's stockroom was a nice reprieve from being expected to maintain a perfectly polite and submissive persona for almost everyone she knew. 

With her column done, it was time for Anzu to get to her studies. She should get some kind of award for managing to keep up with them while doing everything else, honestly, although since “everything else” were all activities that could get her expelled maybe-

With a jolt, Anzu heard a key getting jammed into the apartment’s lock. Oh, no. No no no no Sunday was her her only day off and she still somehow managed to forget to get ready stupid stupid  _ stupid  _ alright. 

Anzu shut her brain off and took a deep breath. In, out. Then she hid her final draft, got up, and strode to the door, where her mother and father were waiting. “Good evening. How was work?” Anzu said as she took their coats, hanging them up on the rack. 

“Fine,” her father grunted. 

Her mother scowled. “Where’s dinner?”

Anzu froze, then reinforced her smile. “I’m so sorry. I got so wrapped up in my studies that I forgot to make it.”

“Get to it, then.” Without another word, her father trudged to the table and sat down, her mother following soon after. 

Anzu walked to the kitchenette and began pulling together a quick meal while he’d parents silently waited. It took exactly six minutes. 

Serving them their food, Anzu moves to sit down with her own tray before her mother held up her hand. “You know the rules, Anzu. If we have to wait, you have to wait. Throw that in the trash, you can eat in the morning. You need to watch your weight anyways.”

She hesitated for a moment. 

Her father’s jaw clenched slightly. “Anzu.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Anzu spring out of her seat and to scrape her untouched meal into the garbage. Her stomach rumbled. 

Still, she sat down with her parents, expression carefully neutral as they ate. The silence lasted for three minutes before the questions started. 

“Remind me, what are you doing out so late?”

“Tutoring a classmate and doing volunteer work, ma’am. It’ll look good on my applications.”

“Who are you tutoring?”

“Yugi Mutou, sir. He needs help with math.”

“What are you volunteering for?”

“The Takahashi Foundation, sir. We help rehabilitate delinquents.”

“Hmph. I thought it was the Takahashi Project.”

“That’s incorrect, ma’am.”

“I wasn’t asking you. Regardless, I’ll follow up with them later. What were you doing walking with that Jounouchi boy and his hooligans towards the arcade? I noticed you on the bus two days ago.”

“I was planning on playing games with them, sir.”

“You’re grounded for three days. You don’t have time to waste on such frivolous things, and those damned things rot your brain. You will spend the next three days studying and nothing else. Understood?”

“...”

“ _ Understood? _ ”

“Yes, sir.”

“Why were your marks so low on the last English test?”

“They were low, ma’am?”

“At this stage in your education, anything lower than shū is unacceptable if you want to get into a good university. Until you improve your grades, your allowance is suspended.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

The interrogation ended ten minutes later, when her parents finished their meals and left the cleanup to Anzu. As her father slumped into the couch, staring into the middle distance as the TV played the news, and he’d mother began clacking away on her keyboard in her room, Anzu washed the dishes by hand. 

She didn’t notice that her fingernails were digging into her palm hard enough to draw blood until the water was stained red. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "And I will get lonely  
And gasp for air"
> 
> "shū" is the highest grade possible in the common Japanese schooling system, and it's where the idea of the S-rank came from.


	4. House of Wolves, Part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Well I know a thing about contrition,  
Because I got enough to spare  
And I'll be granting your permission  
'Cause you haven't got a prayer"

The musty air in the stockroom sealed away from the chaos of Domino City was normally a comfort for Anzu. The dust was thick with a gentle love for everything stored there, from the latest trendsetting board game to the ancient chess sets collecting cobwebs in the very back. Anzu sometimes just sat in the dark, eyes closed as she breathed in the kindness that Sugoroku had infused every inch of the stockroom with. (It was almost a tangible sensation, a fleeting scent that vanished as soon as she noticed it.)

But that day, it felt like a tomb. Anzu stared down the box of cards in front of her, taking a deep breath. Something about Duel Monsters unnerved her. It was like she could feel the cards' hearts beating beneath her fingertips whenever she touched them, electricity passing between the cardboard and the darkness that resided within the puzzle. 

She stood there for a few moments, frozen, before Sugoroku bellowed, "MS. ANZU, WHERE ARE THOSE BEAST-WARRIOR SINGLES?" 

"COMING RIGHT UP, SIR!" Startled out of her dread, Anzu snatched the requested cards from the box and hustled upstairs, shuddering as they pulsed in her hands and handing them to Sugoroku. 

Sugoroku glanced at Anzu out of the corner of his eye as he rung the cards up, frowning. "What's wrong, Ms. Anzu?"

"It's nothing, sir. Really." Anzu waved her hands, attempting to brush off his suspicion, but Sugoroku's concerned stare brooked no arguments. "I... okay. I'll admit it, the cards freak me out a little bit."

"I suppose some of the art can be shocking to a girl of your sensibilities."

Anzu scowled. "Not like that. It's... the feeling I get off them is weird. It's like they're alive, almost? I can't really describe it." She could describe the sensation perfectly, but Anzu knew she'd sound absolutely insane if she did try to explain it. 

"Hm." Sugoroku tapped his chin, deep in thought. "You know, there is a legend-"

"How can there be a legend about it already when the game's been out for less than a decade?"

"Shush. It's said that top duelists can hear the hearts of their cards beating if they listen hard enough. If you believe in the souls of your monsters, they'll guide you to victory. Maybe you're destined to be a legendary duelist, ho ho ho!"

"Sounds fake, but okay." Although compared to whatever was going on with the Millenium Puzzle and all the mysterious mental afflictions that her classmates had been coming down with, it wasn't all that implausible.

The front door chimed, and Yugi and Jounouchi walked inside. "Yo, gr- WHUH? Anzu,  _ you _ work here?"

"No. I'm just a figment of your imagination." Anzu rolled her eyes. Great, now she was going to get harassed by Jounouchi outside of school too. She really didn't know what Yugi saw in him. (Maybe that was a little harsh; Jounouchi was just a stupid teenager boy like every other boy at Domino High. But Anzu has had more than enough of boys in general lately; even Yugi was on thin ice.) "Of course I work here, dummy."

"Right. Well, uh," Jounouchi rubbed the back of his head. "I was wondering what this whole 'Duel Monsters' thing is about. Yugi, too. Everybody at school was going  _ crazy _ over it today." 

Anzu couldn't begrudge her classmates for their fun, but there was no way she was participating in the trend herself. The closer she got to Duel Monsters, the closer she got to the shadow inside the puzzle, and she wasn't sure she wanted to connect with it any more than she already had. As Sugoroku explained the rules to Yugi and Jounouchi, Anzu found herself drifting, feeling a static whisper in the back of her mind. It was almost like somebody was looking through her eyes, thirstily drinking in every detail on the cards and- 

Anzu mentally swatted the sensation away, coming back to reality to find a customer arguing with Jounouchi: a gaunt young man in the Domino High uniform.. If Anzu wasn't already thoroughly spooked by the shadow's reaction to the Duel Monsters cards, his ghoulish appearance would've put her off. What was his name again? Kaiba?

"Come back when you've collected at least 10,000 cards," he said, Jounouchi glaring at Kaiba as he clenched his new cards in his fists. It was a good thing Duel Monsters cards were made out of such sturdy stock, otherwise Jounouchi would be seriously damaging them. Leaving Jounouchi to stew, Kaiba turned to Sugoroku and asked, "Do you have any good cards here? I might be persuaded to buy." Anzu braced herself for another trip down to the stockroom to get singles, but Kaiba's attention was immediately caught by the Blue Eyes White Dragon in the case. Anzu could see his breath catch, almost like... no, no way could he actually... unless... ugh, she  _ really  _ didn't want to think about that.

Kaiba wrenched his briefcase open, desperately pleading with Sugoroku to part with the piece of painted cardboard to no avail. Sugoroku even used that same weird heart metaphor that he explained to Anzu to get Kaiba to back off. It still sounded really hackneyed to Anzu, but hey, what did she know?

As Kaiba stalked out of the store, Anzu felt glad that she'd never have to deal with that weirdo again.

* * *

Unfortunately, Anzu had to deal with that weirdo the very next day. In public. Where she had to maintain her picture-perfect class rep image or else her parents would hear about it and get involved and make a huge mess.

She was studying at a desk in the corner of the classroom, away from the crowd that had formed around Yugi and Jounouchi as they dueled. Since most of Anzu's free time was spent working like a horse at Kame Game—ever since the Duel Monsters craze began in earnest, there was almost no time to take her customary breaks—Anzu had to carve out space in her schedule during other times of the day to get school work done. Which meant that she didn't have nearly as much time to socialize. And even if she didn't have to focus on her studies, Anzu wasn't going anywhere near that duel. There was something about when Yugi played that roused the shadows inside the Millenium Puzzle, and she wasn't eager to see what would happen if she stayed close enough to watch Yugi trounce Jounouchi for the umpteenth time that day.

Then something deeply, viscerally  _ wrong _ twisted in her gut, standing out even against the constant background of shadowy static that hung in the back of her mind whenever Anzu was near a game of Duel Monsters. It was all she could do to not dry heave over her papers. Her vision automatically snapped to the source of the sensation, sharply defined despite the hubbub disguising his movements: Kaiba, swapping Yugi's Blue-Eyes White Dragon for a forgery.

Even if the act wasn't anathemic in a way that Anzu couldn't stand despite her discomfort with the game, that card was worth a lot to the Mutous. No way was she going to let this slide. Anzu sprang to her feet, brushing past the crowd to tap Kaiba on the shoulder as he bid goodbye to Yugi.

"Kaiba? I hate to bother, but it seems like you accidentally swapped a card sample for Yugi's Blue-Eyes. Could you return it to him, please?" Anzu put on her best class rep smile, lacing her words with enough force so Kaiba could hear the iron in her voice. 

He froze, facade falling apart in an instant. "What are you talking about?" he hissed.

"Give Yugi the card back, Kaiba. Now."

"I don't have time for this." Anzu could smell a faint hint of his fear. It was... almost sweet. As Kaiba hustled out of the classroom, Anzu followed him into the hallways, heels clicking sharply on the tiles. 

Anzu couldn't let him get away. She just  _ couldn't _ , and that's what scared her the most about all of this. The shadows weren't taking over this time, they were propelling her, inciting her wrath, making her pursue Kaiba of her own free will. And it felt good to give in to the anger. When Kaiba hustled into the empty courtyard, Anzu clamped her hand on his shoulder. "This is the last time I ask nicely, Kaiba. Return the card."

"Tch, I..."

"I don't care about Duel Monsters. At all. The game freaks me out, to be honest. But Yugi's grandfather? That card means the world to him, and I c-"

"Shut up already!" Then Kaiba hit her over the head with his briefcase. The agony rang out pure and clear. Anzu stumbled back, falling and falling and falling as Kaiba launched into his monologue. "I don't care about loving cards or stupid things like that. Tell the old man this: it's not how you play the game, it's whether you win or lose." He let out a deranged, sinister laugh.

They rose to their feet, unsteady. "Then prove it."

"Hm?"

"Prove that the end result triumphs over the means." They pointed at Kaiba, feeling the raging power of twilight burning in their veins. "Duel me here at eight PM tonight. Or you can stay home like the coward you are, unable to back up your words with action."

Kaiba snarled, a feral, unhinged growl that made the hairs on the back of their neck stand up. "What did you just- Fine!"

And so it was decided, even as Anzu thrashed in vain within the prison of the Millenium Puzzle. Even as she realized that, for the first time since she got the damn thing, she could hear herself think.

* * *

Anzu just couldn't get over the hair. As they strode into the school, steps echoing with purpose and the deck of cards the shadow had cobbled together from the Kame Game supply weighing heavily in her pocket, Anzu boggled at her (their?) reflection in the windows. Her bangs had been swept up into a ridiculous starburst pattern, almost like the shape of Yugi's hairdo, while the rest of it was constantly swaying like it was in the type of gale that only blew to highlight the studliness of a broody superhero. It looked incredibly, unbelievably stupid. How had nobody commented on her sudden hairstyle change whenever the shadows took over? Were they just too embarrassed to mention it? 

They threw open the door to the courtyard, wind whipping through the boughs of the trees. Anzu could feel the shadow's unadulterated fury boiling her blood as they strode towards the table where Kaiba sat. (It was a relief finally having an outlet for that anger, although Anzu would never admit that, not even to herself.) His arms were crossed, smirk slashing his pallid face open. "Well, Mazaki. Shall we begin? I can't wait to crush your pathetic deck and rip all the worthless cards in it to shreds."

"Hm. Perhaps. Now, the rules of this game are a little different than what you're used to. You'll see once we start." Anzu could feel her mouth move, tongue twisting and air rushing through her throat with every word the shadow said. Every fiber of her muscles shifted as the shadow took a seat across from Kaiba. She was painfully aware of every movement her body made; what was normally mundane and unthinking sharpened into disgusting, grisly detail. It was like she was a marionette on strings, dancing to some unseen master's whim. 

Kaiba snorted, no doubt thinking that the stolen dragon would secure his victory. "Heh. Sounds like fun. I'll start with Ryu-Kishin." He slammed the card onto the table, and mist began hissing out of the cardboard, swirling and changing and warping until it formed a hideous gargoyle in the shape of the art on the card with 1000 ATK. Anzu felt sick, and judging from Kaiba's reaction, he was just as unsettled. "What- the card came to life?!"

"Ohohoho. I told you that the rules have changed." Anzu's hands moved, delicately putting a card on the board face-down and sideways. "I play a monster in face-down defense position and end my turn."

Gritting his teeth, Kaiba shook off his fear and glared at the shadow. "You can't throw me off my game with your parlor tricks. I attack your face-down monster with Ryu-Kishin." The gargoyle sprung forward, growling as it tore into the card only for its claw to be blocked by a dainty blue hand. The Mystical Elf chanted a brief prayer, sending the Ryu-Kishin flying back across the table with a pulse of blue energy. 

"The difference between Ryu-Kishin's attack and Mystical Elf's defense is 1000 points, so you lose that much life." Anzu could hear the invisible counter ticking down as Kaiba snarled. "When you lose all your LP, a Penalty Game awaits you."

Kaiba snorted, attempting to disguise his nervousness (although Anzu could still somehow smell his fear, which was a distinctly disturbing sensation). "Whatever. I summon Battle Ox in attack position," The minotaur's deranged growling matched its master's expression perfectly, but its 1700 ATK was no match for Mystical Elf's 2000 DEF, "set a card, and end my turn."

"I draw." The shadow carefully examined their hand, tapping their chin thoughtfully. "I set another monster in face-down defense position and end my turn."

Kaiba cackled. "What an amateur. You can't win only by defending! Let me show you how it's done. I flip over my set card." At Kaiba's command, the card turned upright, disintegrating and leaving behind a sickly green magic circle. "Giant's Might: My Battle Ox's ATK increases by 20%!" Anzu raised an eyebrow. How were you even supposed to keep track of that in a game where the monsters' statistics weren't mentally transmitted to you via ominous shadow magic? It seemed like bad game design. "Since it used to have 1700 ATK, its new ATK is 2040. That's more than enough to destroy your elf. Axe Crusher!"

Huffing and pawing at the ground as its muscles bulged grotesquely, the Battle Ox charged Mystical Elf, who remained serene despite her imminent doom. The Battle Ox cleaved her in half, her form disintegrating into mist before her guts could spill out onto the playing field. "I end my turn. Nothing in your pathetic deck can stand up to my Battle Ox!"

The shadow remained impassive, drawing their card. But Anzu could feel her muscles tense, the brief spike of nervousness that faded into calm blankness in half a second. They were backed into a corner, but the shadow refused to show it. "I play another monster in face-down defense position, set a card, and end my turn." Both cards were deliberately placed on the table, betraying nothing of the shadow's worry. 

"Are you scared, Mazaki? I draw." Kaiba slipped the card into his hand, then began chuckling. "This is game! First, I summon Vorse Raider in attack position." A warrior clad in studded leather armor and wielding a brutal glaive with 1900 attack appeared out of the mist. "Then I activate the spell Big Bang Shot from my hand, equipping it to Battle Ox. While the seal of Giant's Strength rejects all other power," the beast-warrior's muscles deflated, "Big Bang Shot increases Battle Ox's ATK by 400." A mechanical engine flaring with nuclear power flew out of the mist, clamping onto the blunt end of Battle Ox's axe. "Big Bang Crusher!" Battle Ox lunged forward, towards the card the shadow had just set while its axe burning with a meteoric corona.

"Hold on. I flip over my reverse card: Gift of the Mystical Elf." The blue-tinged mist from where the Mystical Elf fell formed a faded phantasm of the shadow's that nonetheless sang with a beautiful voice. "She returns from the grave to heal me 300 LP for every monster on the field, so I gain 900 LP." The illusion of the elf faded away, and Anzu breathed a sigh of relief just before the Battle Ox smashed its flaming axe into the set card with all the strength of a comet crashing down to earth. The explosion scattered the bones and tattered rags of the Skull Servant that had been set there before, the shockwave ruffling their (still stupid) hair. The sound rang in Anzu's ears for a few painful moments before fading away. The shadow flinched as they felt their LP go down to 1000. Wait, wasn't putting a monster in Defense Position meant to protect you from damage if it was destroyed? 

"Oh, right." Kaiba's smirk was cruel, cutting through the darkness gathering around the table with its brutality. "Big Bang Shot has another effect: whenever it destroys a Defense Position monster, it deals the difference in ATK and DEF to you as damage." Looking down at the board, Kaiba scowled. "Looks like we're even. But not for long: Vorse Raider, attack the other face-down monster." Vorse Raider lurched forward, viciously jabbing its glaive into the set card... only for its leg to be grabbed by the dessicated Earthbound Spirit. Grimacing, the warrior leaped away, landing back in Kaiba's field as his LP went down to 900 total. "...I see your strategy," Kaiba said, expression mirroring his card's in its disgust as he gestured for the shadow to start their turn.

Drawing a card, the shadow smiled. "You do? Ohohoho. Do tell."

"You play high DEF monsters face-down so power decks like mine will self-destruct against your stone wall. But you've already seen that I'm more than a match for your simple tactics." Kaiba's simmering fury almost made him seem like a wild animal, mindlessly snapping at his opponent. "In fact, I'll prove to you that I don't need to defend at all to win this match!"

"We shall see." Anzu peeked at the shadow's hand from behind her own eyes, and mentally winced. For all their cool bravado, the shadow's hand was full of nothing but defensive monsters and a Curse of Dragon with 2000 ATK that would only be destroyed by Battle Ox if they played it in attack position. "I set a monster in face-down defense position and end my turn." 

"And you have the  _ audacity _ to call me a coward. I draw, and summon another Vorse Raider in attack position." A second Vorse Raider appeared, identical to the first in every way. For as much as Kaiba disgusted Anzu, she was impressed; it took a lot of money and effort to find and purchase multiple copies of a card as rare as Vorse Raider. "Battle Ox, go forth. Big Bang Crusher!"

The monster charged forward, plunging its hand into the ground to pull out the screeching corpse of the Earthbound Spirit before lopping off its head, creating another explosion that sent the shadow's LP down to 900. "Now we're even. Your turn, Mazaki."

"I draw a card." Deep breath. In, out. "I set a monster in face-down defense position."

"Big Bang Crusher!" Battle Ox rent the giant turtle apart despite the difference in size. Their LP shot down to 800. Rhythmically flicking the cards in his hand, Seto slid a card into his back row and said, "I set a card and end my turn."

Unless something changed, the shadow would lose for the first time since they had been awakened. And after what happened to everyone else who was subjected to the shadow's "Penalty Games"... Fear churned in Anzu's gut as the stricken faces of Ushio, Kokurano, and Inobashira loomed large in her mind. No, no, no, she couldn't let herself languish in whatever Hell the shadow had built for this duel just because the stupid bastard wasn't good enough at this damn game to win! Her terror boiling over into anger, Anzu shouted,  _ "Don't you dare lose, least of all to this arrogant jackass! If you're good enough at this game to challenge a pro so confidently, then show it, or else you're as much as a hypocrite as Kaiba!"  _

Her psychic cry rattled around in her skull, giving the shadow a jolt. They clenched their fists, then swiped the top card off their deck. "I draw!" Their eyes lit up as they read the text on the card, and Anzu breathed a mental sigh of relief. "Prepare yourself, Kaiba." The shadow pointed at their opponent, the purple fog swirling around them billowing away with the force of the movement. "The real duel starts now!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is being split into two parts for sanity's sake. I'm sorry for the quality, but it was either spend two months obsessing over editing it and lose all momentum on the fic or post it now in its okayish state.
> 
> I'm sticking to my guns about Anzu getting gifted the Millenium Puzzle being the only change in this AU. Her being a lot more threatening prompted Kaiba to put in a little more effort into building his deck, and Ryu-Kishin is there as a trigger for Crush Card Virus—he attacked because he thought all of Yami Anzu's cards would be trash. In addition, Yami Anzu's strategy differs significantly from Yami Yugi's because of differences in the host soul, and because I wanted an actually coherent and interesting duel on both sides.


	5. House of Wolves, Part 2

As the shadow puppeting her body drew a card with dramatic flair, Anzu couldn't help but wonder if Sugoroku was right. Before she even saw the card, she could feel its pulse throbbing beneath her fingertips as they brushed against the deck, see the pockmarked, skeletal armor covering thick cords of powerful muscle, smell the ozone around the monster as it prepared for a fight... 

"I play Summoned Skull in attack position." The shadow's yell echoed through the misty courtyard. With a furious roar, the monster flew from Anzu's mind's eye onto the battlefield, crossing its arms as it sneered at the Battle Ox. 

Kaiba arched an eyebrow. "That's one of the most powerful monsters in the Fiend class. Bravo, Mazaki. I hadn't expected a  _ hobbyist  _ like you to have a card like this."

"Ohohohoho. Then allow me to demonstrate its abilities to you." Summoned Skull straightened, electricity crackling across its horns. At its current size, it looked almost adorable in its bloodthirst. "Summoned Skull, attack Battle Ox with your Magic Lightning!" The monster raised its hands, eye sockets glowing with sickly yellow light as it conjured its-

"Tsk tsk." Kaiba wagged his finger. "Did you really think you could beat me with such simple tactics? I play at the national level, such a straightforward attack can't even scratch me. I flip over my face-down card: Rush Recklessly!" Bolts of lightning hurtled towards Battle Ox from above, their peals of thunder making Anzu's ears ring, but the minotaur charged straight past them and embedded its axe into Summoned Skull with a sickening crunch. Before Anzu could blink, the fiend exploded in a nova of blinding light and deafening sound. "Hmph. What are your Life Points now? 500? This duel is as good as mine."

"It isn't over until it's over, Kaiba. I set a card facedown. Your move"

"Without any monsters, you're open for a direct attack. You're  _ done _ . Battle Ox, attack her!" Kaiba's expression was crazed, the rush of victory contorting his face into an animalistic mask while the Battle Ox pawed at the ground, snorting with anticipation.

"Not so fast. I activate my reverse card: Negate Attack. The battle phase ends!" Just as the Battle Ox lurched forward to charge, it stumbled back as a wall of shimmering force blocked its advance.

Kaiba's guttural growl rivaled his monsters' snarling. "Fine. You get to live for one more turn. Better make good use of it. I set a card and end my turn."

For the second time that duel, Anzu could feel her—no, both of their—lives on the line with this next draw. Taking a shuddering breath, Anzu and the shadow drew in unison. 

"Graceful Charity." Okay,  _ this  _ was the draw the game depended on. "I draw three cards." Anzu could feel the heartbeat of the next monster, throbbing in perfect sync with her own and the shadow's. There was a pause as the shadow scanned their hand, then peered over the table to look at Big Bang Blow. Kaiba crossed his arms, tapping his index finger on his forearm. The shadow flicked their cards, moved to play one, then paused, reconsidering. "Maybe... no, no." Rubbing Anzu's chin, the shadow slouched in their seat, considering their options. "But if he..." Tap, tap, went Kaiba's finger. "I need at least one more to..." Tap, tap, tap. "Alright. Here we go. First, I discard The Dragon Dwelling in the Cave and Curse of Dragon due to Graceful Charity's effect."

Kaiba rolled his eyes. 

"I activate De-Spell from my hand, targeting Big Bang Shot!" 

Kaiba stopped rolling his eyes.

"When Big Bang Shot is destroyed, the reactor explodes, removing the monster it was equipped to from the game." The Battle Ox dropped its axe, but it was too late. The thermonuclear flash left only a charred outline on the table, which soon faded away into the mist. "Next, I summon Dark Magician in attack position." In a flash of darkness, the monster appeared in all his regal glory, his violet armor shining bright and his staff blazing with magical energy. He stared down Kaiba's field, face a stony mask. "With 2500 ATK, it has more than enough power to destroy Ryu-Kishin. Black Magic!" The wizard leveled his staff, firing a bolt of green lightning at Ryu-Kishin.

"GHK- I activate Inspiration! Ryu-Kishin gains 700 ATK until the end of your turn!" Despite its imminent doom, the Ryu-Kishin stood tall, bracing itself for Dark Magician's spell. When the magic struck the fiend, time slowed to a crawl as light began to twist around the wound. The world inverted into photo-negative, a wave of corrupted light radiating off Ryu-Kishin until the entire courtyard was bathed in Dark Magician's sorcery.

Then the sphere of magic reached critical mass, the inverted light collapsing back to a single point: Ryu-Kishin. The fiend's body shattered like glass, and Kaiba's LP plummeted to 100.

Kaiba tore his gaze away from the void where Ryu-Kishin used to stand, grinding his teeth as he glared at the shadow. "You-" His fiery rage transmuted into a cool, calculated wrath, and that same horrible feeling wrenched Anzu's gut again. She  _ knew _ , smelling the deceit curdling in his soul. Kaiba was going to cheat Blue-Eyes White Dragon into his hand next turn, and... the shadow wasn't going to do anything about it?

Before Anzu could puzzle out their motives for not punishing Kaiba's imminent cheating, the shadow continued their play. "I activate One Day of Peace from my hand. We both draw a card, and neither of us take damage until the end of your turn."

Harrumphing, Kaiba "drew"—Anzu and the shadow could both feel the Blue-Eyes White Dragon slipping out of his sleeve and into his hand—and said, "Congratulations. You've managed to destroy my weakest monster. However, that just means you're finally forcing me to play seriously!"

The shadow contorted Anzu's face into a wicked scowl, snarling at the slight. "If you haven't been attacking me with all you've got, Kaiba, you're no duelist! You're just an arrogant fool. Next, I activate the Continuous Spell Supply Squad," the card hit the field with all the weight of a tombstone, "then play Allure of Darkness, drawing two cards and removing a Skull Servant in my hand from the game." The shadow swiped two cards off the top of their deck, and the Skull Servant in their hand faded into mist. "I set a card and end my turn. Your move."

"Hmph. I admit, your draw power is impressive... but nothing in your third-rate deck can stand up to my skills! I draw my card for the turn." Kaiba didn't even look at his hand before slamming the card onto the table. "I summon the legendary engine of destruction: Blue-Eyes White Dragon!"

The mist blew into a raging typhoon above the table, coursing with white bolts of lightning as a resounding roar erupted from the fog. A pillar of light pierced through the clouds, striking the table with earth-shattering force, and the shadow braced Anzu's body as the massive dragon flew out of the blinding light, hovering above Kaiba's field. "AHAHAHAHA! I may not be able to damage you this turn, but I can sure as hell destroy all your monsters! Blue-Eyes, heed my call: Burst Stream of the Destruction!"

Rearing back its head, the dragon hissed as it drew in energy from the air, ribbons of holy light dancing through the fog to intertwine into a ball of pure oblivion in its gaping maw. With a triumphant screech, Blue-Eyes White Dragon launched a pillar of light at Dark Magician. The monster accepted his fate, closing his eyes and taking one last breath (the part of Anzu's mind that hadn't submitted to the sheer insanity of the Shadow Game wondered why illusory monsters needed to breathe) before he vanished in the dragon's attack. 

Anzu's body jerked backwards as the shadow flinched. "Supply Squad's effect activates. Once per turn, when my monster is destroyed, I draw a card." 

But Kaiba wasn't done. "Then I activate another copy of Rush Recklessly from my hand, targeting Vorse Raider." The warrior flexed, growling as it leaned forward with sparks of electricity dancing around its sabatons. "Attack Mazaki's facedown monster!" Kaiba's Vorse Raider charged the shadow's card with blinding speed, leaving behind a fiery trail as it cut the hidden monster—Giant Soldier of Stone—to pieces before returning to Kaiba's side. "Unfortunately, you can't take damage this turn, so attacking you directly has no point. I set two cards and end my turn."

The shadow stared at the board, shocked (it was their idea to let Kaiba get away with cheating in the first place, so why were they surprised?). Anzu grit her teeth, shoving the spirit out of the way. If they were too stunned at this glaringly obvious turn of events to do anything, then it was up to her to take Kaiba down. Ignoring the painful static drilling holes into her brain as she felt her soul grating against the shadow's spirit, Anzu started her turn. "Draw!" All she could do was hold on.  _ "Stop gawking and help me,"  _ she mentally hissed, then counted up the cards in the shadow's graveyard and double-checked their hand. This... should work? Anzu wasn't a professional duelist like Kaiba, not by a long shot, but every time that Sugoroku dragged her kicking and screaming to the demo table she did pretty well. Right, right. Okay. She had a shot. She could do this. 

"I banish Mystical Elf, Earthbound Spirit, Island Turtle, Summoned Skull, Skull Servant, The Dragon Dwelling in the Cave, Curse of Dragon, and Giant Soldier of Stone to activate my face-down card: Skull Lair!" The silhouettes of the eight monsters appeared in the fog, glowing violently orange mixed with an otherworldly blue. "I can remove a number of monsters in my graveyard equal to the level of your monster from the game to destroy it. Your Blue-Eyes is toast." The monsters twisted and merged into a howling wind of blue-and-orange light, speeding towards Blue-Eyes White Dragon-

"Amateur. I activate my face-down card: Shift." At the very last moment, one of the Vorse Raiders jumped in front of the mass of angry souls and disintegrated in its light. "It switches your attack or effect to another monster I control."

"Uhhhh." This was bad. Frantically scanning the shadow's hand for answers, Anzu slapped down three more cards. "I play a monster in face-down defense position, then set-"

Anzu could feel the moment that her vocal cords switched control back to the shadow, who had apparently broken out of whatever fit they were having, "-two cards and end my turn." Anzu felt her soul shiver as that same static sensation sent spikes of agony through her mind. She really, really didn't want to think about what that pain meant.

Kaiba drew his card, oblivious to her pain as he grinned like a shark. "Blue-Eyes White Dragon attacks!"

The shadow grit Anzu's teeth. "I activate my face-down card: Sakuretsu Armor!" Brutally spiked and demonic-looking armor leaped out of the mist, lunging towards Blue-Eyes. "Whenever one of your monsters declares an attack, I can use this card to destroy that monster."

Chortling, Kaiba tapped his last face-down card. "You've put up a valiant effort, I'll admit, but that isn't enough. I flip over Boogie Trap!" Kaiba flung the rest of his hand into the mist. "I discard two cards from my hand to choose a spell card in my graveyard and set it, and it can be activated this turn. I choose Shift, of course." Once again, a Vorse Raider took the attack, wrestling with the possessed armor until they tore one another apart. "Blue-Eyes destroys your pathetic set monster!"

A second Earthbound Spirit was atomized from the wrath of Blue-Eyes White Dragon. "Gh- Supply Squad's effect activates. I draw a card." 

Kaiba's smirk only grew wider. "It's your turn, Mazaki."

Anzu's hand hovered over the shadow's deck. She closed her eyes. The shadow and the vessel took a single breath, in perfect unison. Then, they drew. Looking at their hand, the corners of Anzu's mouth tugged upwards. "It's over."

"Wh-"

"First, I summon Dark Magician Girl from my hand!" The monster appeared, armor a shoujo parody of Dark Magician's full-metal protection and flowing blond locks tumbling out of her hat. Smiling cheerily, she winked at Kaiba, floating backwards and resting her staff across her shoulders. Kaiba snorted, unimpressed. "Then I activate my face-down card: Graverobber." A cheeky blue gremlin appeared on Kaiba's side of the field, clad in dirty rags as it rifled through his graveyard. "Graverobber's effect allows me to take one spell card from your graveyard and use it as if it were my own. I choose Big Bang Shot!"    
The graverobber picked up a card the size of its own body and tossed it to Dark Magician Girl before prancing into the mists. Startling, the monster reflexively struck at the card with her staff, and in a flash of green light the tip of her weapon was replaced by a sleek-looking engine block. 

While Dark Magician Girl tested the weight of her new weapon, perplexed, Kaiba laughed. "This is nothing more than the pathetic flailings of a duelist who knows that her time is up. Just give in. There's nothing you can do to beat Blue-Eyes."

"True." The shadow cast Anzu's gaze towards the table, shrouding her eyes in shadow. "While it's face-up on the field, Blue-Eyes White Dragon is the most powerful monster in existence." Anzu chuckled. "But only while it's  _ face-up _ . I activate the spell card Book of Moon from my hand!" A midnight-blue book made of stone appeared before Dark Magician Girl, each page an ancient slab covered in hieroglyphs. Without a moment of hesitation, Dark Magician Girl flipped the book open and began reading from its pages. "I choose one monster on the field and change it to face-down defense position."

Kaiba paled.

"I target Blue-Eyes White Dragon!" Nodding, Dark Magician Girl shoved the book back into the mists and thrust her staff at the dragon. An indigo hexagram with a crescent moon symbol spun into existence under the monster, and it began shrieking as the magic circle shrank, transforming it into a shapeless form in the mists. 

"HA!" Sweat beaded on Kaiba's brow. "Even while it's in defense mode, Blue-Eyes has 100 more DEF than Dark Magician Girl's augmented ATK. There's nothing you can do!"

A familiar silhouette formed in the purple fog, placing a hand on Dark Magician Girl's shoulder. "That's where you're wrong, Kaiba." Dark Magician Girl nodded at the shadow of Dark Magician, her cheery demeanor transforming into a hauntingly familiar resolve. "While Dark Magician is in my graveyard, he passes on his strength to Dark Magician Girl. The determination of her deceased master empowers her to push onwards, and so Dark Magician Girl gains 300 ATK!"

Kaiba fell out of his chair, staring up at the board with horror. 

"GO!  _ SUPERNOVA BURNING! _ " The tip of Dark Magician Girl's staff blazed with the light of a brilliant star, a rainbow nebula growing and pulsating and crackling with unrestrained  _ power  _ at its tip. With a kiai, Dark Magician Girl launched the nova at the face-down Blue-Eyes White Dragon, streaks of light of every color flying out of the mist and joining with the spell until it took up half the table with its size. It annihilated the card on impact.

Dark Magician Girl saluted Anzu and the shadow before fading away with the rest of the mist, leaving a trembling Kaiba and a stoic shadow in an empty courtyard.

"You lose, Kaiba."

"I- I-"

"Whatever you have to say, keep it to yourself. After all, it would be nothing more than the pathetic flailings of a duelist who knows that his time is up." The shadow pointed Anzu's finger at Kaiba as the Eye of Wdjat (huh, so that's what that thing was called) and yelled, "Penalty Game: Illusion of Death!"

And so as Kaiba screamed into the night, the shadow walked out of the courtyard with not a care in the world.

Then Anzu walked into the hallway, took a deep, shuddering breath, and collapsed against the wall. The pulse of adrenaline faded, leaving every inch of her body wracked with exhaustion. Her hands flew over her mouth as she repressed the urge to scream out of... anger? Fear? Triumph? All three? (The last one is what concerned her the most.)

The enormity of what happened beginning to sink in, Anzu slid down the wall, trembling as her brain spun around in circles. Eventually it settled on what thought in particular:  _ where was she going to hide the body? _

Somehow paling even further, Anzu stumbled into the courtyard, checking Kaiba's pulse. Okay. Okayokayokay he was fine. Apart from all the screaming and thrashing, but she was taking any win she could get right now. Which meant that she didn't need to hide a body. That was good!

All that yelling was going to attract attention, though. Which was less good. She had to get out of the school and  _ fast.  _ Forcing herself to breathe evenly, Anzu walked out of the school. One foot in front of another. Right, left. Right, left. On and on until there were police cars turning a corner and heading towards the school which was  _ totally fine  _ because she was innocent of any wrongdoing in the eyes of the law. 

The sirens faded, and Anzu was left alone with her thoughts as she hiked back home. She was numb for a while, Domino's lazy nightlife a blur as she walked. In between steps, Anzu snapped back to reality. Then Anzu almost fell flat on her face—thank goodness for those dancer reflexes.

So. She was possessed by a spirit, presumably from the ancient Egyptian amulet that she received from Yugi, that was fixated on vengeance. Anzu had suspected as much ever since the incident at Burger World, really, this whole fiasco just confirmed it. Deep breaths. In, out. Anzu closed her eyes, centering herself. Now, what was she going to do about it? 

It was clear that the shadow was tied to the artifact hanging around her neck, but getting rid of the Millenium Puzzle wasn't an option. The thing seemed bound to her at this point; Anzu doubted that she'd even be able to give it to an archaeological organization without it somehow finding its way back to her. Disassembling the puzzle into its components seemed beyond her physical capabilities, and even if it could be smashed apart through brute force, destroying an artifact of such historical significance regardless of whatever horrible consequences the act would bring felt  _ wrong _ —although maybe that was the spirit talking. Calling an exorcist likely wasn't going to get Anzu anywhere, either. Even if she did manage to find the real deal, the spirit wasn't going to leave unless she got rid of the Puzzle. Which was impossible in Anzu's current situation. Great. Just great. 

All of this meant that Anzu would have to live sharing her headspace with a shade bound by an archaic cabal of sorcerers (presumably) to a priceless artifact that currently bore a striking resemblance to a f- to a noose for the foreseeable future. Finding out a way to talk to them was a priority; Anzu wasn't sure if she could handle blacking out and waking up to a thrashing half-dead body in front of her again. Although now it seemed like she was going to be fully aware of her surroundings whenever the shadow took control, which somehow felt even worse. If she could just communicate with them that wasn't anywhere near okay... well, judging by their general demeanor and actions, it wouldn't be very effective, but it would be a start, and who knows if she kept at it things would-

Opening the door to the apartment, Anzu realized that her parents told her they'd be home in seventeen minutes, and shut down all thoughts of supernatural insanity. Whatever else was happening in her life, as her parents' daughter, she had a job to do. She almost wished for the next day to be perfectly normal just so she could have some time to breathe, realized that was a poor decision considering her current track record with dramatic irony, and stopped herself before she could finish the thought.

Unfortunately, Anzu didn't catch herself soon enough.

* * *

[CW: Early Jounouchi and Honda being highly inappropriate towards Anzu.]

"I told you this was a bad idea, Jounouchi."

"Honda, you gotta trust me-"

"She's like a bloodhound, I swear! She's 100% gonna find us-"

"How? We made sure that this locker was unused. We'll be fine, trust me."

"Trust  _ you _ ."

"Yeah!"

"...I-"

The bell started ringing, and chatter creeped into the locker room as the entire girls' swimming class filtered in.

"Shaddup, or they'll find us."

"Got it, got it."

"..."

"..."

"Your elbow's in my groin, you bastard."

"I thought you said to shut up?"

"Why I oughta- waitwaitwait here she comes."

And Anzu walked into their vision, framed perfectly as she slipped off her shirt. Honda and Jounouchi's breath caught, then-

Anzu stopped, deliberately put her shirt back on, and marched over to the locker.

"Oh, fu-"

"-ck me."

Her expression a mask of stony rage, Anzu wrenched the door to the locker open, and Jounouchi and Honda fell out with all the grace of an orangutan that had one too many shots of Scotch. 

"Uh-"

"Er-"

"H-heh, Mazaki, I swear I can-"

The tidal wave of seething rage in Anzu's voice had physical force. " _ Out. _ "

"We didn't mean any-"

"FUCK OFF AND GO TO HELL, JOUNOUCHI!" Anzu's yell echoed through the locker room, startling the other girls. "IT'S ONLY BECAUSE YOU  _ WERE  _ MY FRIEND THAT I'M NOT HAULING BOTH OF YOUR ASSES TO THE PRINCIPAL'S RIGHT NOW AND GETTING YOU BOTH EXPELLED!  _ NOW. LEAVE _ ."

The boys stood there for a few moments, dumbstruck. Then she socked Jounouchi in the face, knocking him into Honda and sending them both tumbling to the floor. Without another word, Anzu turned on her heel and walked away.

[End CW.]

* * *

Anzu screamed into her pillow. She thought that after all this time around her and Yugi, Jounouchi would've grown up. Or at least have enough sense to realize that she's a fucking person too, not just some display mannequin for him to ogle. 

Somebody really needed to teach him a-

-lesson. 

* * *

"Just do it, Jounouchi. I'm sure it'll be fine." Yugi pat Jounouchi's back, smiling up at his friend.

Jounouchi gulped. "I'm not sure that, uh, this is really a good idea."

"And when has that ever stopped you before?"

Yugi was almost concerned when Jounouchi didn't rise to the bait. "Look, she's still  _ really  _ mad. I'm not sure that..."

"It's not going to get any better if you don't apologize."

"I just..." Jounouchi sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "She was right. I really screwed up this time. I don't know what I was thinking."

"Look, grandpa and I are going out so you two can talk this out privately. You're two of my best-"

"Only."

"-hush, friends! I don't want you to keep fighting each other like this."

"Ugh. Fine, fine. If it gets you off my back about this. Sheesh." Groaning, Jounouchi finally started shuffling over to the store just as Sugoroku walked outside, bidding farewell to Anzu.

"Ho ho ho." Grinning, Sugoroku clapped Jounouchi's shoulder. "It looks like you're in luck today, my young friend. It seems like Anzu's in a good mood!"

"Ah... ha..." Jounouchi wasn't so sure about that. "Thanks, gramps." Taking a deep breath, Jounouchi entered the store.

Anzu was sitting down at the demo table, staring directly into Jounouchi's eyes. Something about her seemed... different. Was it a new haircut? Yeah, it was definitely a new haircut. "Eh. I. Hey, Anzu." He chuckled, his weak laugh somehow echoing in the store. 

"Hello, Jounouchi." She cocked her head to the side, a smile teasing at her lips. "Would you like to play a game?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Well, I think I'm gonna burn in hell  
Everybody burn the house right down!"
> 
> Sorry for the delay, everyone. Wrangling the duel took a lot longer than expected. A quick notes about some of the stuff in this chapter: Yami froze up because the part of them that lived in the present and drew upon that experience thought that Blue-Eyes White Dragon wouldn't obey Kaiba because of its bond with Sugoroku. However, the part of them that lived in the past knew that wouldn't happen because of Set's bond with Kisara, and when they tried to access those memories for answers, they bluescreened. As for Blue-Eyes, it didn't betray Kaiba because Anzu herself didn't have a bond with it, which wasn't enough to push it over the edge into betraying its master.
> 
> As for Anzu awakening while Yami had control far earlier than Yugi did, it's because she and Yami's soul don't fit together like two puzzle pieces. There's a lot more friction there, which awoke Anzu and alerted her to his activities far earlier. I'm sure this will have no long-term consequences. 
> 
> Please leave a comment below now that House of Wolves has been completed!


	6. The Sharpest Lives

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "There's a place in the dark where the animals go  
You can take off your skin in the cannibal glow"

"A game?" The way Anzu said it sent shivers down Jounouchi's spine. Her words felt like a tomb beneath her cheery tone. Something was wrong; Jounouchi could feel it in his gut.

"It's nothing too complicated, trust me." Anzu's grin was too wide, like she was practicing the expression in front of a mirror instead of smiling at a friend (could he even be called that anymore, after the stunt he pulled?). With a flick of her wrist, six packs of Duel Monsters cards appeared in Anzu's hand. "Something simple to keep us occupied while we talk."

_ "It's only a simple game. Easily won by a man of your luck." _

Jounouchi flinched at the memory, then forced himself to take a deep breath. It was nothing. His nerves were getting the better of him, that was all. Even if Anzu was turning up the creep factor on purpose, it was well-justified revenge for the embarrassment he put her through in the lockers. "Uh. That's some pretty impressive sleight of hand there." Wow. That was some pretty lame small talk, even by his standards. Sitting down, he asked, "A'ight, so how do we play?"

Anzu tore off the tops of all six packs with one twist, emptied their contents into a neat stack with a single gesture, and began shuffling. "I've been practicing; thank you for noticing my efforts," she said by way of explanation. "This is called a Winston draft. First, we open three packs of Duel Monsters for each player and shuffle all the cards. Then," she set the cards down and swiped her hand across the stack, and the three top cards flew off the top to form a neat row, "three piles are created, with one card in each. During their turn, each player looks at the piles, starting with the one furthest from the main stack. If they like the card or cards in the pile, they can take it for themself. If they don't, they move on to the next pile. Whether or not they take the pile, the player places one card from the top of the stack on top of the pile they just looked at. If the player declines to take the third pile, they take one card from the top of the deck instead. After selecting a pile or taking a card from the top, the turn passes to the next player, and they repeat the process. So on and so forth until all the cards have been claimed."

"Is... is that it?" It seemed pretty harmless.

"Then we duel with the decks we've created. The goal of the draft is to assemble a strategy that can win you the duel out of a random pool of cards, and read what kind of deck your opponent is building."

Normally, Jounouchi would be happy to take up Anzu on her offer, but... "I thought you didn't like dueling?" That was an understatement. She barely tolerated being in the same room as a duel in school. 

"I've taken a shine to it lately." A sinister smile, altogether more genuine and terrifying than the one she had worn before, curled on Anzu's face. 

"W-"

"You can save your questions for the duel itself, Jounouchi. We'll  _ talk _ then."

Golly, that sure was ominous. Jounouchi really didn't like the way she said "talk." But if this was the only way he could apologize... "I'll go first, then." After a few moments of hesitation, he looked at the first pile: Shining Friendship. 1300 ATK was decent, but he had to go bigger for his first card, right? (He recalled that it was one of the few monsters that Anzu tolerated. Leaving it there as a peace offering would probably be a good first step.) Jounouchi put the Duel Monster down and nearly moved on before Anzu coughed. Oh, right. He had to put another card on top of it first. Once that was done, he looked at the next pile and couldn't help bursting into a grin. It was Curse of Dragon, one of Yugi's best cards! Man, he was really rolling in the- right, right. Poker face. This was part of a duel, after all. "I'll take this one. Your turn, Anzu."

She nodded, looked at the first pile, and winced like she had a headache. Anzu moved to put it down, paused, and slammed it on her side of the table with surprising force. 

"Er, you good?" Jounouchi said, raising an eyebrow. What was going on with her today?

"I'm perfectly fine." Anzu placed another card from the stack on the first pile. Her tone was eerily even, with almost no trace of emotion. It took all that Jounouchi had to not make his excuses and leave. But even if their friendship wasn't on the line, something was clearly wrong with Anzu, and Jounouchi wouldn't give up until he found out what it was and how to fix it. "Go."

The first pile had some useless trap—Trap Hole or something—so Jounouchi immediately moved on. What he found in the second pile would've made him spit take if he had been drinking anything. Gaia the Fierce Knight, another one of Yugi's aces. And if he remembered correctly, he could do something to combine them to make an even stronger monster, although for the life of him Jounouchi couldn't remember what that actually involved. It was a snap keep.

Anzu took a single look at the first pile and added it to her deck. Wait, hers was twice the size of his. Should he be worried? Whatever, it was Jounouchi's turn again. A useless Furious Sea King, a useless Darkworld Thorns, some stupid pansy spell... Jounouchi considered the Sparks spell in his hand for a moment, eyes darting between the stack and the spell. Basically anything would be better than Sparks, right? So he ripped a card off the top and- well, the art was cool at least. But Swords of Revealing Light didn't even deal any damage! Grumbling, he added it to his deck and decided to make some small talk. "So, uh. First of all, I'm-"

"Shush."

"...harsh. I mean, I-"

"Like I said, we can talk once we start dueling. My turn." Anzu passed over the first pile again, then carefully considered the second, rifling through the deck she had accrued before nodding and taking it. 

Anzu's calm confidence was beginning to- okay, so many things about this were wigging Jounouchi out, but normally Anzu would be at least slinging casual barbs over the table or making some sort of small talk. The way she refused to speak a word to him other than to tell him it was his turn was eerie. Another detail to add to the pile of things that were seriously wrong with this whole situation. Shaking off his anxiety, Jounouchi looked at the first pile. That dumb monster again, some spell he didn't care about, and  _ holy smokes another Gaia the Fierce Knight _ . Windmill slam!

This time, Anzu barely spared the other piles a glance before moving to the third pile and taking it. What the hell was she planning? Sometimes, Jounouchi wished he was as much as a nerd as Yugi so he could understand stuff like this. Only sometimes, though. Right, right. His turn. The first pile had Beaver Warrior and some spell. Mediocre. The next had Raimei, which was terrible, but Skull Red Bird... no, still kinda okay at best by the standards of the deck he was amassing. Which left the last card. Jounouchi picked it up, resigning himself to the fate of getting another trash common, and was nearly blinded by the light reflecting off the foil. It read  _ Special Advance Edition  _ where the production number normally was, and the foil swirled in hypnotizing patterns. The card's name was Super Polymerization. Jounouchi didn't give a damn about the fact it was a spell, he was taking it and selling it for cash immediately after the match. The thing had to be worth bundles of yen.

Anzu froze again as she reached for the first pile. Struggling to maintain her stoic mask, she snatched up all the cards in the pile without even looking and gestured for Jounouchi to go.

"Are you sure you're okay, Anzu? It looks like-"

"I'm. Fine. Jounouchi.  _ Now pick your cards. _ "

Boy howdy, it sure was getting drafty in Kame Game, wasn't it? Sugoroku was going to have to get that fixed soon. Ha ha ha ha. Ha. Ha. 

(Jounouchi did his best to ignore what he thought was the sound of the lock clicking shut behind him. He failed miserably.)

He was doing this for Anzu. If the only way to get her to talk about what was going on was to duel her, then fine! Jounouchi would ignore his heebie-jeebies—with great difficulty—and duel her. 

"...okay." Steeling himself, Jounouchi looked at the first pile. Pot of Greed- what the hell did that card even do? He didn't know and didn't care, and so immediately moved on to the next pile. While he patently didn't give one whit about this new Raigeki spell, Jounouchi was reconsidering the playability of Raimei and Skull Red Bird. His deck was starting to look small compared to Anzu's, and while he wasn't sure whether that was a bad thing, Jounouchi was pretty certain that it definitely wasn't a good thing. Almost. At least Skull Red Bird had some decent ATK. Sighing, he added it to his deck. "Go."

Anzu held the artifact hanging around her neck so tightly that Jounouchi was surprised that she didn't cut herself on its edges. Then she looked at the first pile. Looked at Jounouchi. Peered at the first pile again. Then gave him a long-suffering, sardonic stare- there was the Mazaki he knew and loved! Terrifying in a familiar, distinctly noncreepy way. 

"W. Was the new card good?"

Shaking her head, Anzu took Pot of Greed and whatever card it was that Jounouchi added to the pile.

"I guess it's my turn, then." First pile had another spell—why did they keep printing these things, nobody ever used them! Or at least he didn't—Dragon Treasure. Second pile was... another Curse of Dragon. Somehow, Jounouchi felt far less triumphant about finding such a rare card now. Whatever, he might as well take it.

Anzu took a look at the first pile and nearly put it back before pausing, her brow furrowing as she thought it over. After checking her deck no less than three times, Anzu gingerly inserted the cards, almost as if handling a dangerous object, before passing the turn back to Jounouchi.

Another spell card in pile one (Black Hole? Dark Hole? Something like that), another Beaver Warrior—he sure as hell didn't need any more of those—in pile two, and an even worse spell card in pile three. Great. Just fantastic. Preparing himself for the worst, Jounouchi took another card off the top of the deck and... huh. Steel Ogre Grotto #1. Not that bad, really.

Once again, Anzu raised a skeptical eyebrow when she looked at the first pile and immediately kept it, and once again a lead weight settled in Jounouchi's stomach. He dueled for fun, not for keeps; there had never been any reason for him to worry about winning or losing. So he just picked the coolest-looking, most powerful monsters, and went with those. But something told him that if he was going to get out of this unscathed, he'd need to step his game up.

Which meant that he was going to have to start reading the spell (and trap, apparently the new set created a distinction between the two that he knew would be a headache to keep track of) cards that were in the piles, starting with the first one. Hinotama- holy smokes, 500 damage directly to the opponent? That was a full..

...

...

...

Quarter of their starting health! If all of the other random spells he picked up were like this, Jounouchi might have a shot. Rifling through his deck and scanning all his non-monster cards, Jounouchi muttered something resembling "go" to Anzu. 

She passed over the first pile after a cursory look, and was poised to pick the second pile before abruptly slamming it back on the table and adding another card to it. With the same violent force she took the third pile without even looking at it.

"Er." Anzu definitely wasn't fine. "My turn, I guess?" The first pile was just a Larvas and another Darkworld Thorns, nothing Jounouchi needed to bother with. The second pile, though... Beaver Warrior (meh), Stop Defense (could be useful), and Monster Reborn, which could revive his- wait. Jounouchi double checked the text on Monster Reborn and his eyes bugged out. Any monster? What business did Industrial Illusions have printing such a powerful card, sheesh! Jounouchi swept the pile into his deck.

Taking a shuddering breath, Anzu(?) calmed herself and reached for the first pile, examining the cards before referring back to her deck. After a moment of consideration, she took the pile.

It was Jounouchi's turn again. Pile one had another spell: Polymerization. That kinda sounded like a boring version of the Super Polymerization he had pulled earlier, but he read it anyways- A _ ha _ ! That's how Yugi fused all of his monsters. And if Jounouchi had two Curse of Dragons, two Gaia the Fierce Knights, and two versions of Polymerization... well, those were good odds, right? He'd take them. 

Moments later, Jounouchi remembered that he needed to get the Gaia the Dragon Champion card before he could fuse it, and that was pretty unlikely in this kind of duel. Whatever, the fusion monster's components were still damn good cards.

This time, Anzu(?) picked the first pile without any hesitation. Great. Another fantastic first pick, apparently. They were entering the endgame now, there weren't many cards left in the stack. Jounouchi would have to be really careful with his next few picks. 

...

Drooling Lizard, Skull Red Bird, and another Drooling Lizard were all no-gos, so he was taking another one off the top! Despite the steadily building weirdness, Jounouchi smiled when he saw his favorite card: Flame Swordsman. Now just to add it to his deck and... hey, wait a minute. He squinted at the purple frame of the monster. Since when did he have to fuse stuff to summon him? That was definitely new. Without Flame Swordsman's components in his deck, it was useless! Drooping, he gestured for his opponent to go. At least Anzu(?) had equal difficulty finding any good cards in the dregs of the packs, if her slightly-more-displeased-than-usual neutral expression was anything to go by. She settled on taking the second pile rather than risk an unknown and potentially even less useful card.

Another round, another run of garbage. The only "good" option was in the third pile, a single Witty Phantom with a decent ATK alongside the Drooling Lizard. Jounouchi's gaze darted from the stack, to the pile, then to the stack again, before adding the third pile to his deck. He could take the safer route and grab the okay option. Or he could take a risk and... get rewarded with a Gaia the Dragon Champion, exactly the card he needed!

Man, would his luck ever run out?

That strange change overtook Anzu(?) once more, lasting longer this time as she kept a vice grip on the Millennium Puzzle's chain while gasping for breath. Jounouchi desperately wanted to ask what was wrong, what was happening to her, how he could  _ help _ , but he had a feeling that things would get even worse if he asked a question now after being given so many warnings. She only peeked at the top card of it before hastily sliding the pile over to her side of the table, then nodded at Jounouchi for him to go.

Forcing aside a sudden case of the nerves, Jounouchi checked the first pile. Masaki the Legendary Swordsman... not good enough, damnit. A split second later, he let out a muted "D'oh!" when he remembered that Masaki the Legendary Swordsman was one of Flame Swordsman's components. Dagnabbit. Shaking his head, Jounouchi reached to place another card on top of the pile, only to freeze when he realized there weren't any cards left. This was his second-to-last pick. Jounouchi had to make it count. (He wanted to tell himself that it was just a game. That he shouldn't worry about it so much. But he knew, somewhere deep in the pit of his stomach, that this was far more than just a game now.) He grabbed the next pile, and-

Red Eyes B. Dragon. Another card too, but that didn't matter. Red Eyes was one of the most powerful dragons outside of Kaiba's blue-eyed crush. If Jounouchi had this, he had to win! He immediately placed the cards (the other one being Fiend Reflection #2) in his deck, then said, "S'your turn, Anzu."

Still panting from some kind of invisible exertion, Anzu moved to take the first card without even looking at it... then bit down on her tongue.  _ Hard _ . Jounouchi could see blood trickling out of the corner of her mouth. Anzu's head snapped back, and Jounouchi felt the temperature of the room plummet as Anzu(?)'s cold, almost cruel demeanor reinstated itself. She moved to take the third pile, then coughed, spraying blood on the table as the light of Anzu's soul flickered inside her eyes for just long enough for her to take control for a few more seconds. Anzu peeked at the first card, smirked, let out a hysterical laugh, shook her head violently, and took it before collapsing over her pile of cards.

"Anzu!" Jounouchi reached out to- he didn't know, really. To do something other than stare helplessly at this internal battle Anzu was fighting.

But before he could, she rose, moving more like a feral cat than a person, and all the humanity that had shone in her eyes before was gone. "Make your play, Jounouchi."

Like there was any choice he could make. Jounouchi, glaring at whoever was inside Anzu's skin, snatched the final pile: Drooling Lizard, The Witty Phantom, and Change of Heart. Not Anzu began shuffling her deck, and Jounouchi followed suit. He definitely wasn't imagining it before, Kame Game was far colder than it had any right being. Jounouchi was getting goosebumps—and not just from the fear that was pumping through his veins instead of blood, outweighed only by the rage and determination still blazing bright in his heart.

Completely silent, Jounouchi and Not Anzu slid their decks across their table and cut one another's cards. Then they both drew five; each card that Jounouchi added to his hand feeling heavy as a tombstone. This was it.

Time to duel.

"This duel will have special rules." Not Anzu's face twisted into a smile like a sword that cut just as deeply as a real blade. "To facilitate our... reconciliation." Jounouchi snorted. "Whenever one of us takes damage, we may choose Truth or Dare. If Dare is chosen, the full damage is taken and nothing else happens. But if Truth is chosen, whoever inflicted the damage may ask one question of their opponent. If their opponent answers truthfully, they take half damage. If they don't, they take double damage."

Jounouchi would question how they were supposed to tell whether or not the other was lying, but he had a sneaking suspicion that Not Anzu already had that covered. "Oh, so  _ now _ I'm allowed to ask questions?" he snarled.

Not Anzu's sick grin somehow grew wider. "If you damage me, yes. Oh, and one more thing." Jounouchi could feel thick fog gather around his ankles. "This is a Shadow Game. Whoever loses will face a Penalty Game. Ohohohohohohohoho!" She even raised the back of her hand to her cheek like a classical noblewoman. Jounouchi ground his teeth in response. 

Ushio's, Kokurano's, and Inogashira's screams rang in Jounouchi's ears. So that's what awaited him—or Anzu, if he managed to pull out a win. "Fine. I'll go first. Draw!" He added the card to his hand without any flair. Jounouchi figured that dramatics would just encourage the sick bastard possessing Anzu. His options were Stop Defense, Polymerization, Gaia the Fierce Knight, Hinotama, Raimei, and The Witty Phantom. He almost played Gaia the Fierce Knight and ended his turn, but... right. Hinotama. There was a  _ reason _ he chose that card. And Raimei, which was basically the same thing but less. "I activate the spell card Hinotama from my hand, dealing you 500 points of damage  _ di-rectly  _ to the face!" 

All of Jounouchi's resolve to play it cool flew straight out the window when a fireball whizzed over his head. He yelped, scrambling back as it hurtled towards Not Anzu. It exploded against her chest, bathing the room in a dark smoke that mixed with the fog slowly building around them. "Shit-"

Not Anzu didn't flinch. Two neon signs lit up behind her, one in a teal cursive that read Truth, one in a blocky crimson that read Dare. They made Not Anzu a silhouette in their harsh light. In between the signs hovered Not Anzu's current LP: 2000. "I choose Dare." The Dare sign flashed and Not Anzu's life went down to 1500 before the lights slipped back into the mist.

"Are you okay?" Even if Jounouchi didn't give a damn about Not Anzu, that was still his friend's body she was piloting. "I-"

Not Anzu wagged her finger. "Tut tut, Jounouchi. Remember that you can only ask questions if I choose Truth."

"Fine, then! I activate the spell card Raimei, dealing you another 300 points of damage!" 

A miniature lightning bolt struck Not Anzu, but she hardly flinched. "I suppose I'll indulge you with a question. I choose Truth." The Truth signed flashed, morphing into a set of scales above Not Anzu's head. On one side there was a feather, and on the other the silhouette of a human heart.

"What the hell is going on with the cards? How are they real? H-"

"Ah ah ah. Each 'Truth' only gives you one question, so I'll answer the last. The power of the shadows is..." She outstretched her arms, gesturing at the thickening darkness in the store. "Potent. It can bring illusions to life, play tricks of the mind... and that is how our cards are 'real.'"

"That wasn't an answer."

"I contend that it is. And the game appears to agree. Look, my LP is going down to 1350." Indeed, as the heart rose above the feather before the scales disappeared entirely, Not Anzu's LP counter went down to 1350.

Jounouchi muttered to himself, then slammed down Gaia the Fierce Knight. A miniature version of the warrior trotted onto the table, his horse rearing back as he clutched a lance in each hand. "I play Gaia the Fierce Knight and end my turn."

"Hm." Not Anzu drew and hardly gave her hand a sparing glance before making her play. "I set a monster in facedown defense position and end my turn."

That only made sense; there weren't many monsters that could stand up to Gaia. Jounouchi would be celebrating his obvious advantage if the situation wasn't so dire. He drew—a Beaver Warrior—and examined his options. A dim light flickered on over his head. If he used Stop Defense, he could hit Not Anzu for big damage, and maybe force her to choose Truth. That way, he could start getting some answers. "I activate the spell card Stop Defense from my hand, targeting your facedown monster." Mist gathered around Not Anzu's card, coalescing into... some puny bug with only 450 ATK? That was kind of a letdown.

Not Anzu's wicked smirk returned. "Man-Eater Bug's effect activates."

"Whuh-" Jounouchi reeled back as the bug leaped towards his Gaia the Fierce Knight. "Monsters can do spell stuff now?!"

"Yes, it's new in this expansion. When Man-Eater Bug is flipped faceup, I destroy one monster on the field. I choose Gaia the Fierce Knight!" The bug leaped at the knight and tore Gaia's armor apart, digging its bladed hands deep into Gaia's stomach and pulling out ropes of intestine. Clumps of viscera and gore dribbled out of the knight's stomach as he and his horse screamed in tandem, sinking into the mist with a wet squelch.

Jounouchi had the manners to vomit away from the table, at least. 

Gaia the Fierce Knight dissolved into fog, leaving Jounouchi to stare dumbfounded at the table while Man-Eater Bug scuttled back to its position on Not Anzu's field. The third time he used a spell card in his entire career as an (amateur) duelist and it backfired on him. Of course. Forcing himself to shake off his nausea, Jounouchi said, "I'm not done yet! That grody bug thing only kills my stuff when it's flipped faceup, and you can't flip it facedown again without a spell."

"Or trap."

"Right, sure, whatever. My point is that now it's just a puny low-ATK monster. I summon The Witty Phantom in attack position!" The orange-skinned fiend stepped out of the mist, taking off his hat to bow to Jounouchi before turning to face his opponent, wrinkling his face in disgust. In Jounouchi's inexperienced opinion, the fiend looked quite dapper. "Since he has 1400 ATK, my monster is more than a match for yours. The Witty Phantom attacks your Man-Eater Bug." Sighing, the Witty Phantom looked away from Man-Eater Bug before snapping his fingers. A stream of purple fire shot from the fiend's hand, streaking towards Not Anzu's monster. 

"I choose Truth. Now, Jounouchi. What is your- pleaseleavepleaseleaveplease- question?" Not Anzu didn't even notice the slip in her facade.

Jounouchi clenched his fists, knuckles going white. "I want to hear you say it," he whispered, every word filled with a near-inhuman rage.

"What was that?" Not Anzu put a finger to her chin and cocked her head to the side, and for just a moment, she looked exactly like Anzu. 

That only pissed off Jounouchi even more. "I WANT TO HEAR YOU SAY IT!"

"Say what?"

" _ TELL ME WHO YOU ARE, RIGHT NOW!"  _ Jounouchi's roar shook the racks of games lining the walls of the store.

Not Anzu's mask fractured, and she leveled a cruel smirk at Jounouchi. "Oh, I see. Unfortunately, that wasn't technically a question, so I'm afraid I default to half damage. Tsk, tsk." She shrugged. A low, animalistic growl clawed its way out of Jounouchi's throat as the heart rose above the feather, and Not Anzu's new life total—875—flashed over it before the neon sign disappeared entirely. "But since you such a clever boy, I'll just say it." She leaned across the table and breathed in Jounouchi's ear. "I'm not 'Mazaki.'"

It took all of his willpower to not punch Not Anzu then and there while she returned to her seat, that damned grin still on her face. "I. End. My. Turn."

"My turn. I draw." Not Anzu plucked a card from the top of her deck with a delicacy that somehow managed to infuriate Jounouchi even further. "I summon The 13th Grave in attack position." A skeletal hand wrapped in rotting, gangrenous skin emerged from the mist, driving a rusted broadsword into the table as it pulled the rest of the rag-clad corpse up. This time, Jounouchi resisted the urge to blow chunks. Barely. "I equip the spell card Violet Crystal to my Zombie-type monster, increasing its ATK and DEF by 300 points." Spikes of purple crystal burst from The 13th Grave's chest, and it staggered back before pinpricks of violet lit up its empty sockets and its entire body began glowing with the same sickly glow. "The 13th Grave attacks The Witty Phantom." The fiend was too busy trying to wave the zombie's foul odor away with his gloved hand to notice that he got impaled. Thankfully, The Witty Phantom faded into mist before his guts could spill all over the table like Gaia's had. "Now, Jounouchi. Truth? Or dare?"

Harsh red and blue light glowed in Jounouchi's peripheral vision. He had nothing to hide; might as well choose the option that would mitigate the damage. "Truth."

"What were you thinking when you snuck into the girl's locker room?" 

Jounouchi froze. "I- I don't know, I-"

The tinny sound of canned boos coming from every corner of the store accompanied Not Anzu's proclamation: "Wrong."

Jounouchi gasped as he felt his heart plunge towards his stomach, spectral claws digging into it and yanking it downwards in an impossible descent. 

"You can't hide the truth from a Shadow Game. I'm honestly disappointed that you'd even try. Even imbeciles have reasons for indulging in their base instincts. You hid in that locker because you wanted to see the girls naked, Jounouchi. You wanted to watch them, raking them with your carnal gaze, in the one of the few places in the entire school where they were safe from the predations and pranks of impudent, immature boys like  _ you _ ." Every word felt like a knife in Jounouchi's chest, eclipsing the chill that seeped into his blood as he felt his life points drop to 1800. "I set a card and end my turn."

Whatever force had held his heart in its grip abated, and Jounouchi let out a slow wheeze, not saying a word as he drew. The shadowy mist slipped through his nostrils, filled his lungs, crept through his blood... and he could feel every millimeter of it. Another trick to throw him off his game. He wouldn't fall for it. "I summon Curse of Dragon-"

"Not so fast. I activate my face-down card: Trap Hole." As Curse of Dragon swooped over the table, a hole opened in the mist, showing an endless pit of packed dirt that vanished into nothingness. Before the dragon could pull up, it dove right into the impossible hole, the trap silently closing behind it. At least the dragon didn't get eviscerated. 

"GHK-" This was bad; Jounouchi was wide open for Not Anzu's counterattack. If she summoned a high-ATK monster next turn, he was done for even if he did reduce the damage through Not Anzu's twisted game. But he couldn't surrender, either. Not if there was even the slimmest possibility of saving Anzu. So he would forge onwards. "I end my turn."

"Draw. I summon," Not Anzu hesitated as she almost chose one of the cards in her hand, then shook her head as her hand pivoted towards another, "Masaki the Legendary Swordsman in attack position." A warrior in green armor arose from the mists, blade outstretched towards Jounouchi. "The 13th Grave attacks you directly." For a few moments, Jounouchi found humor in the mental image of a tiny skeleton impotently whacking him on the hand. Then the monster stepped forward, grew to full human size, and hewed into his arm with its pitted, rusty broadsword.

Jounouchi screamed.

The blade dug deep into his shoulder, cleaving through flesh as its rough edge scraped against his bone with a horrible, grating screech. Wrenching the broadsword from Jounouchi's shoulder, The 13th Grave leaped backwards, returning to its normal size while Jounouchi doubled over, panting. The pain slowly faded away, and Jounouchi laboriously turned his head to find that there wasn't a trace of the monster's brutal cut. It wasn't quite over yet, though, and he tensed as the now-familiar light of neon lit up behind him. "I choose Truth." It was the only way to survive, but Jounouchi wasn't looking forward to having to answer whatever prying question Not Anzu asked next.

"I'll make it easier for you, Jounouchi." Not Anzu's smile turned sickly sweet, and Jounouchi's intestines performed a feat worthy of a world record and tied themselves into even tighter knots. "A simple yes or no question. Did you go into the girl's locker room specifically to see Anzu?"

All of the air vanished from Jounouchi's lungs. He so desperately wanted to say no, that he didn't, but... "Yes," he choked out. He felt his life drop down to 1050. 

"Looks like you're getting smarter. Masaki the Legendary Swordsman attacks you directly." This time, Jounouchi was ready when the samurai plunged his blade into his chest. That didn't make it hurt any less, though. "Truth or Dare, Jounouchi?"

He had no other option. He had to keep fighting. "Truth."

"Did you do it because you wanted to get revenge for all the times Anzu humiliated you?"

Jounouchi's nails dug deep into his flesh. "Yes." 500 LP. 

"I end my turn."

Jounouchi was tempted to give up as his hand hovered over his deck. To surrender right then and there, and let Not Anzu torture him for being such a dogshit person and an even worse friend. But... no. If nothing else, Anzu herself deserved to give him a proper clock-cleaning for that stunt he pulled. And she had to be free of this freak's control for that to happen. If it was the last thing he did as Anzu's friend, Jounouchi would find a way to get her back. "I draw!" Jounouchi didn't have any way to turn this around. Just a Beaver Warrior, a Polymerization, and a Super Polymerization (fat lot of good either of those would do him with both Gaia the Fierce Knight and Curse of Dragon in his graveyard). The only option was to play defense and pray that Not Anzu wouldn't draw a more powerful monster. "I summon Beaver Warrior in defense position." With 1500 DEF, it could hold off-

...

It was all Jounouchi could do to keep himself from banging his head against the table as the rodent scuttled through the mist and raised its shield. If he'd played Beaver Warrior facedown, Jounouchi could've baited Not Anzu attacking with Masaki the Legendary Swordsman instead of The 13th Grave and do 300 whole points of rebound damage. Whatever, nothing he could do now. "I end my turn."

"Hm. I draw, then summon Shini-" Not Anzu blinked, then shook her head. "I mean, I summon Flame Manipulator from my hand in defense position." A sharp yell pierced Jounouchi's ears as a pillar of flame slammed into the table from above, receding to reveal a man clad in ragged, burnt clothes. "I end my turn."

Jounouchi's deck may have been full of powerful cards, but he had a hunch that with the garbage that he had in his hand and the way Not Anzu was building up her field, a stalemate like this was bad news for him. If she found just one card to pierce Beaver Warrior's defense, Jounouchi was a goner. Just a few more turns, he silently pleaded with his deck. Just a few more turns so he could find a way to set things right. 

"Here we go." Draw! And... god damnit, it was another spell, how was that supposed to- wait. Jounouchi took a closer look at the card. This would give him the precious turns he needed. "I play the spell card Swords of Revealing Light!" Swords of pure white light fell on Not Anzu's field, the shadowy mist evaporating into nothing as they cut clean through the table, each strike accompanied by a crystalline melody. One pierced Not Anzu's shadow, and she winced as it flailed under the sword's radiance; shifting into an amorphous, humanoid shape with the same eye symbol that was on the puzzle emblazoned on its chest and with spiky tendrils where its head should've been. What almost looked like ram's horns sprouted from the side of the shadow's vague head-shape. "Ha! So that's what you really look like when you're not possessing my friend. You should really look into getting a haircut, that 'do doesn't do you any favors," Jounouchi crowed, savoring the brief moment of victory over the shadow that was possessing his friend. "I'm done."

For the first time that duel, Not Anzu's (the shadow's?) cold, cruel expression broke not into a teasing smirk, but into an annoyed, almost inhuman snarl. "Draw." She  _ tore _ the top card off her deck with enough force to send a gust of wind across the table, making Jounouchi flinch. "I summon Blackland Fire Dragon, then equip it with Dragon Treasure." A green dragon flew out of the mists, roaring as a green orb with a dragon's head symbol on it descended from the mists and settled between its wings. "Normally, Blackland Fire Dragon has 1500 ATK, but Dragon Treasure increases its ATK by 300. If you didn't play Swords of Revealing Light, I would have won this turn; as multitudinous as your weaknesses are, I must admit that you have good instincts. I end my turn."

"Can it, creep." As much as Jounouchi was enjoying his reprieve and the brief burst of confidence that came from nailing the impostor's true form to the floor, it wouldn't last forever—and if he didn't get rid of that Blackland Fire Dragon or draw a monster to match it before Swords of Revealing Light's effect ran out, he was toast. Jounouchi drew, getting another spell card: Monster Reborn. Using it, he could summon a monster in Not Anzu's graveyard to fight for him, but there weren't any good targets there! He had to draw another monster, and soon. "Your go."

"Draw." Not Anzu smirked for the umpteenth time that duel. "Although I may not be able to attack you with my monsters, that doesn't stop me from damaging you through other means." Oh, shit. "I activate the spell card Sparks from my hand! It deals 200 points of direct damage to you." A volley of miniature fireballs launched from the card, burning small holes in Jounouchi's clothes and stinging against his skin. "Tr-"

"Yeah, yeah. I know the routine by now. I choose Truth; ask your question."

"Would you have snuck into the girls' locker room if you knew it would hurt Anzu?"

Oh, this one was easy. Jounouchi snorted. "Of course not. I'd never hurt Anzu like that again, not in this lifetime or the next." A half second after his words left his mouth, Jounouchi realized Not Anzu's trick.

And then those horrible, grasping claws wrapped around his heart again as his LP plunged to 100.

Not Anzu chuckled, wagging her finger as Jounouchi gasped for breath. "Apparently you haven't learned your lesson, Jounouchi. If we turned back the clock and told your past self that if he infiltrated the locker room he would hurt Anzu, he still would've jumped at the chance! I swear, boys are so dumb sometimes." The echo of Anzu's real voice was another arrow that pierced through his heart. "Tsk tsk. I end my turn."

Jounouchi just sat there for a few moments, staring at his deck numbly. Then his face contorted in a mask of wrath. "IF, IF, IF! QUIT TURNING MY WORDS AROUND ON ME, YOU JACKASS! 'IF WE TOLD PAST ME, WHO HADN'T SEEN HOW BADLY SHIT LIKE THAT HURTS PEOPLE, HE STILL WOULD'VE DONE IT!' OF FUCKING COURSE, IDIOT! BUT HERE'S THE THING: I HAVE CHANGED. I HAVE LEARNED MY LESSON. I KNOW HOW BADLY I SCREWED UP. AND I'M GOING TO MOVE FORWARD AND BECOME A BETTER PERSON BECAUSE OF THAT, NO MATTER WHAT YOUR STUPID SHADOW GAMES THINK!"

The shadowy mist shrank back from Jounouchi's rage as he continued. "YOU KNOW WHAT? YOU'RE NO BETTER THAN USHIO, INOGASHIRA, OR ANY OF THE OTHER POOR IDIOTS THAT YOU HOSPITALIZED! THEY MAY HAVE BEEN JACKASSES WHO NEEDED THEIR SHIT SET STRAIGHT, BUT INOGASHIRA SURE AS HELL DIDN'T DESERVE TO GET FINGERS CHOPPED OFF! AND I BET THERE'S OTHERS, TOO, OTHERS THAT I DON'T KNOW ABOUT, PEOPLE WHO'VE QUIETLY DISAPPEARED OR WERE DRAGGED INTO THE LOONEY BIN RANTING AND RAVING BECAUSE OF  _ YOU! _ AND I'M PUTTING A STOP TO ALL OF THIS RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW!

"FOR  _ ANZU! _

_ "DRAW!" _

Jounouchi's draw shook the table, the force nearly sending the cards flying off the battleground. He scanned his hand, and for the first time, it felt like he was seeing the cards instead of looking at them. (How the hell did he get fixated on getting clever with the spell that Jounouchi forgot that Monster Reborn could target his graveyard too? He could be such an idiot sometimes...)

"I activate the spell card Monster Reborn, targeting the Curse of Dragon in my graveyard." The skeletal dragon emerged from the mists, screeching as it circled over the table. "Then, using the Gaia the Fierce Knight I just drew and the Curse of Dragon on my field, I fuse Gaia the Dragon Champion with Polymerization!" A whirlpool of blue magic drew the dragon on the field and the knight in his hand within. They turned into orange light, twisting and combining and warping until-

With a triumphant battle cry, Gaia swooped out of the portal astride Curse of Dragon, flying over Not Anzu's assembled horde before turning on a dime and settling in his place at Jounouchi's side. "But I'm not done yet. Now I use the spell Super Polymerization!" he yelled, spell card held high.

Not Anzu flinched. "What? I've never even heard of that card before, how did you-"

If Jounouchi were even slightly less aflame with pure fury, he probably would've stopped to dispense with some pithy remark or witticism. But as he was, he steamrolled over Not Anzu's protests, continuing his turn. "Its effect lets me use monsters from your side of the field as fusion material. I choose Masaki the Legendary Swordsman and Flame Manipulator." Jounouchi's ears popped as he felt the atmosphere change accompanied by the deafening roar of a hurricane. A blindingly bright confluence of energy consumed the table as ribbons of light danced around the entire room, inexorably gravitating towards the singularity at the center of the game. Masaki the Legendary Swordsman thrust his blade into the table hilt deep, stoically kneeling against the unstoppable force of Super Polymerization, yet within a matter of moments he vanished into the light. Flame Manipulator raged and spewed forth flames that singed Not Anzu's clothes, but he too succumbed.

Brilliant flames consumed Super Polymerization, the wildfire consuming the spell with feverish hunger until the whole store was painted in shades of flickering red and orange. A warrior's cry accompanied a blade made out of crystallized fire tore out of the cocoon of flames, slicing it into embers before Flame Swordsman emerged. Holding his sword up high in a perfect imitation of his master's pose, the fusion drew all of the errant flames in the room into the sword Salamandra.

Despite the way the duel was favoring him, Jounouchi felt a strange hollowness. He knew he would have taken the duel then and there if he had summoned Gaia the Fierce Knight and resurrected Curse of Dragon without fusing them. Hell, he could just attack with Beaver Warrior too. He  _ knew _ that. But winning the game wasn't enough. That would just condemn Anzu to the same torment all of her shadow's victims faced, and nobody on the planet deserved it less than his friend. Jounouchi had to find another way, and that meant forcing the truth out of Not Anzu one way or another.

"Gaia the Dragon Champion attacks your Blackland Fire Dragon." The battle was over in an instant. The champion flew by Not Anzu's dragon, and it burst apart into an almost cartoonish spiral pattern. "Truth or dare."

"Truth."

"How do I get Anzu back?"

"By winning this game, of course."

"That isn't what I meant and you know it," Jounouchi said, trying and failing to keep his tone even, as Not Anzu's LP plummeted to 475. "Flame Swordsman attacks The 13th Grave." The warrior charged, plunging Salamandra deep into The 13th Grave's ribcage. A cone of pure red flame erupted from the back of the zombie, scorching Anzu's body as it crumbled into dust.

Not Anzu grit her teeth. "I choose Truth."

"How can I get Anzu back outside of winning the duel?"

"Unless you have shadow magic of your own or are willing to risk the consequences of breaking the rules of a Shadow Game, I'm afraid that's simply not possible." 325. She was telling the truth. 

But there had to be a way. There  _ had _ to. "I end my turn."

"My turn. I draw." Not Anzu sighed as she looked at the one card in her hand. "I'm afraid this is it, Jounouchi. It's been fun, but you are  _ done _ . I activate the spell card Dark Hole from my hand!" And then everything went black. In the infinitely vast distance between Jounouchi and Anzu, there was a sole pinprick of light. It was a small, almost sad thing, but it was the brightest light Jounouchi had ever seen in contrast to this world of nothing. 

In an instant, reality snapped. Echoing roars of pure silence bellowed as the light violently pulled both players and all their monsters towards it. There was no sense, just sensation. Light. Black. Blurs of color. Pained screams. Just as quickly, it was just Jounouchi and Not Anzu, hovering next to the light with cards in hand and decks by their side. Nothing and no-one else in sight except for Anzu's dancing shadow. 

"This is game, Jounouchi. I summon Shining Friendship- GAH!" Anzu's pirouetting shadow spun round and round as the 1300 ATK cherub's dark outline slid from out of the vortex, kicking Not Anzu's shadow out of lockstep with Anzu's body in the harsh light of the Dark Hole before putting it in a chokehold. (Jounouchi's trained eye picked up her surprisingly good form. She could probably knock out a street thug with a hold like that, nevermind vague, probably metaphorical shadow monsters.) "-in attack position!" 

For the first time since the duel started, Jounouchi saw the light of humanity shine in Anzu's eyes. "ANZU!"

"Jounouchi, shut up and listen to me. There isn't a lot of time." That was definitely his Anzu. "I'm... I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry that they did this to you. Did this to so many other people, too." Behind her, Anzu's dual shadows danced some kind of bizarre wrestling-waltz as they fought for dominance over Anzu's body. It would be hypnotizingly beautiful if not for the absurdity of it all. "And I'm sorry that I  _ let  _ them do this. If I didn't keep quiet, if I-"

"None of this is-"

"Quiet! Just for your information, I am still very pissed off at you, but we can work it out like adults instead of like children obsessed with dumb card games after you wake me from my terror coma."

Jounouchi blanched. "Wait, hold on. There's no way in hell I'm letting you do this Penalty Game thing to yourself. Did you see what it did to Inogashira? Hell, even Ushio... I'm not doing that to you!"

"I DESERVE IT!" The volume of Anzu's yell started Jounouchi. If he was still sitting down and not floating in a black hole, he would've fallen out of his seat. "For letting things get this far, for not figuring out a way to stop it. For enjoying it when I saw what they did to Kaiba, even if it was only a little bit. If paying my dues for a week is what it takes to save you so I can kick your ass properly later, I'll do it."

"I-" Shaking his head violently, Jounouchi steeled his resolve. "No. I'll find another way. I swear we're both getting out of this with a scary story and a few in jokes in terrible taste, no more."

"You are..." Anzu winced. Behind her, the dance was reaching its climax, and the false shadow was now leading. "You're impossible. I need to- before they- I end my turn!"

Jounouchi didn't even get the chance to fumble his draw out of his grip with a shaking hand before Not Anzu's shadow dipped Anzu's, merging with her and absorbing her. Not Anzu said nothing. Just glowered at him from across the light. Jounouchi looked at his card, and repressed a bitter laugh. Of course. If he wanted to, he could close out the game now. Finish things. 

But he couldn't. No, he  _ wouldn't _ .

"I summon Red Eyes Black Dragon in attack position." The dragon's shadow dragged itself away from the spinning blackness of the dark hole and into the light of its core without any fanfare other than a completely silent roar. No sound. No flyby. Nothing. It was just an illusion, after all. "I end my turn."

"I draw. I play Pot of Greed, which allows me to draw two cards. I switch Shining Friendship to defense position. I activate Polymerization, targeting Silver Fang and Darkworld Thorns in my hand. I Fusion Summon Flower Wolf." No dramatics. No taunts. Just pure, unfiltered drive to win, whatever the cost. In the light behind Not Anzu, the shadow of a tangle of thorned vines wrapped and constricted a noble wolf, weaving between and into and through its two-dimensional flesh, gouging thinner-than-paper holes, until it was nothing but its puppet. And then Flower Wolf bloomed into 1800 ATK. "In d-"

"Attack. Position." In perfect sync with the flowers unfurling from the shadow monster's mane, Anzu's shadow wrenched itself free of Not Anzu's, pinning its arms as Anzu drilled into Jounouchi with pained eyes. "Just do it, J-"

"I END MY TURN!" Not Anzu screamed, panting, as Anzu's shadow once more disappeared. The writhing mass of darkness behind her looked more and more inhuman: the ram horns completely dominated the shadow's face, while what looked to be bat wings were slowly working their way free from its back. 

"...Draw." He glanced at the text on the new card before immediately turning back to their "table." Deep breath. In, out. "Red Eyes Black Dragon attacks Flower Wolf." The pantomime of bloody combat between vicious monsters almost seemed childish when it was rendered as a two-dimensional shadow play. Red Eyes reared back, shooting a perfect circle of shadow at Flower Wolf. It stumbled back and fractured into 

perfectly 

segmented 

triangles. 

"Truth."

Jounouchi didn't know how he missed it before. Another case of an idiot being an idiot, he guessed. Maybe the artifact magically slipped underneath peoples' notice. Maybe he was just dumb.

"What happens to you if Anzu stops wearing the puzzle?"

"I remain in her body while she stays locked in the Millenium Puzzle." Not Anzu was down to a mere 25 LP.

But if they switched before the puzzle was taken away from Anzu, it had to be the other way around, right? "I end my turn."

"Draw. I set a card and end my turn." 

Not Anzu was at the end of her rope. This was Jounouchi's chance. If he could draw that one card, if he was right, if he could make Anzu see that none of this was her fault... A lot of ifs. But there was no other option.

"I draw." A smile crept across Jounouchi's face. "I play the spell card Change of Heart, targeting Shining Friendship on your side of the field!" A beautiful woman with one angel wing and one demon wing sprang forth from the light at the center of the dark hole, beckoning towards the shadow of Shining Friendship with a kind smile on her face. A pink glow washed over Not Anzu's field, and the rotund angel peeled itself away from the light, crossing the threshold into full color and dimension as it flew over to Jounouchi's side of the field. Shining Friendship headbutted him in the shoulder affectionately and Jounouchi patted it in return. 

Not Anzu doubled over, clutching at her chest. "What... what did you..."

"You said that I couldn't free Anzu without shadow magic, so I figured I'd borrow some of yours!" With a second source of light emanating from Change of Heart, a second shadow appeared behind Not Anzu—the real Anzu's shadow, who promptly decked the now fully monstrous Not Anzu's shadow right in the face. "Anzu poured her heart and soul into making sure that you didn't play this card, put everything she had into trying to preserve what scraps of our friendship we still had. If Shining Friendship is Anzu's soul, then when it switches, she switches with you too!"

"Jounouchi... I... please..." Anzu gasped, leaning against nothing. She was back. She was really, actually back, no need to fight off that  _ thing's  _ shadow, no need for her to plead with Jounouchi to defeat her. And he was about to take the final step to put this whole business behind both of them for good.

"Anzu, I'm not playing by that bastard's rules. There's no way I'm going to put you through a week of hell just to save my own skin." Jounouchi spit into the vortex, warming up to run to the other side of the light. "We're getting rid of him for good."

Anzu's eyes widened. "JOUNOUCHI, NO!"

But it was too late. Jounouchi was already sprinting towards Anzu, hands outstretched, yelling, telling her everything was going to be alright, that he'd fix it, that-

Shadowy tendrils from the depths of the dark hole snagged Jounouchi's arm. He took two more steps. Next was his ankle. One more step, the hope on his face refusing to give way to fear. He tripped. Fell.

Crawled two more feet and three more inches.

And was dragged back to his place, still wrapped in shadow and unable to move.

A single card fell from his hand: Raigeki.

Anzu could do nothing as the shadow took control once more.

"When you interfere with another player, you automatically conceded your turn. Now. I activate my set card: Graverobber, and take one card from your graveyard." No. "I activate Change of Heart, targeting your Red Eyes Black Dragon." Red Eyes dissipated into shadow, appearing on the other side of the light. No no no. "Red Eyes Black Dragon attacks you directly." A ball of crackling red energy burst out of the shadows, hurtling towards Jounouchi and utterly consuming him. "That's lethal damage, truth  _ or _ dare." This was her fault.

"Penalty Game: Black Hole Vision." Jounouchi began falling apart like dust in the wind. "Since you seem to dislike my partnership with your friend so much, I'll give you a taste of your own medicine. You'll be forever pulled apart by this Dark Hole, watching as another 'you' carries on with your life and-"

No.

"Hm? What was-"

_ NO. _

"I- GET!" The illusion began cracking, bit by bit, as Anzu screamed. "OUT!" She clutched her forehead, hair whipping in a nonexistent wind as the shadow tried to reassert control. "OF!" The Eye of Wdjat burned brighter and hotter than the sun on her brow. "MY!" Anzu could see it now: the real Kame Game, the real table they were sitting at, the real day outside. "HEEEEEEAD!"

And she tore the illusion out of Jounouchi. Inch. By. Inch. 

Except there was something... wrong. Something lodged in his mind, mixing, grinding, resisting, sinking further and further into his unconscious until...

Anzu stumbled back, crying, and ran out the door.

When emergency services arrived, Jounouchi Katsuya was comatose. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Drop the dagger and lather the blood on your hands, Romeo"
> 
> Sorry for the wait, everyone. This absolute beast of a chapter has been a long time coming, and it represents a significant turning point in the story of Skjaldmær. I'm unsatisfied with some of the prose in the climax, but I wanted to finally get this thing out. It's your problem now. 
> 
> If you're wondering why Super Poly didn't have a discard cost, it's because Pegasus as a game designer is even more of a hack than the Mad or Supreme Kings and he thought that the card being super broken was fine if it was equally rare. Thankfully, his advisors saw how dumb that was and just tossed the test copy out, but it did make its way into a pack somehow, and here we are. I'll also be going back and cleaning up some of the grammatical/spelling errors the previous few chapters now that this is finally out. 
> 
> If anybody guesses why Yami went absolutely apeshit, even beyond his normal levels, in this chapter they get a cookie. 
> 
> Oh, and the tags have been updated to reflect the current state of the fic.


	7. Dinu Lipatti's Bones

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "We scaled the hidden hills beneath the surface  
Scraped our fingers bloody on the stones"

"Jounouchi Katsuya?

"Jounouchi Katsuya, are you present?

"...

"Strange. He's never missed a day before. Muto, do you know where he is?"

* * *

"Breaking news: an incident of unclear origin has been reported downtown."

* * *

"I don't understand. No concussion, no outward trauma of any kind, heartbeat is elevated but no other abnormalities..."

* * *

"Why are you calling at this  _ ungodly _ hour?"

"M-Ma'am, your apartment-"

* * *

"Slow down. What did you see?"

"I, I didn't really see anything, I only  _ heard _ it, and it sounded like she was... I don't even know!"

* * *

"According to the police's official statement, it's currently unclear whether this was intentional or pure accident."

* * *

"There was the sound of furniture breaking, and, and  _ screaming _ like nothing I've ever heard... something happened, I'm just sure of it."

"Alright. Deep breaths, okay? We'll send a unit over. Can you give me any details about who lived there?"

"...oh my god."

"Hello?"

* * *

"Muto. I asked you a question."

"Er, sorry, sir. It's just..."

* * *

"So why won't he wake up?"

* * *

"What was I supposed to do? Not take the wad of yen that was shoved into my face?"

"Oh, gee, I'unno.  _ Call the hospital, maybe _ ?"

* * *

"...is that smoke?"

"We'll send the fire department over right away."

* * *

"The fire spread to several neighboring apartments before the brigade arrived and it was contained. Most of the inhabitants of the complex are accounted for and uninjured, but..."

* * *

"Our apartment. Is on fire."

"Was on fire, ma'am."

"I can't believe this. As soon as I find the idiot behind this stunt, I'm suing them for every yen to their name and more."

"Ma'am, there's really something else you ought to be concerned about."

* * *

"He's sick."

"With what?"

"I don't know. The hospital doesn't know either."

"Fine. Give him today's classwork when you can."

"...yes, sir."

* * *

"What could possibly be more pressing than the place I- we- live going up in flames?"

* * *

"What about Mazaki? She's not here today either."

* * *

"Well..."

"Don't tell me. Somebody raided our bank account too?"

* * *

"S- She's missing."

* * *

"The daughter of the tenants of the apartment where the fire started is missing. Evidence recovered from the apartment suggests a struggle occurred before the building went up in flames."

* * *

"Your daughter is gone, ma'am."

"Is that all."

"W-"

"She's a resourceful girl, she'll find her way back eventually. Now, give me the full damage report."

"Aren't you-"

"Oh, trust me, if I find her taking this opportunity to slum it with those delinquents she's been eyeing lately, she will be severely disciplined. No need to worry about that. Anyways, what were you saying about the full extent of the damages?"

* * *

"What are we going to do, Hideo?"

"Well, we can't fuckin' leave her here, can we?"

"Right. Right. Maybe I should call her folks? Her phone fell out of her pocket."

"Nonononono. Somethin' tells me that if her 'rents find out 'bout dis, it won't be pretty. I'll take 'er to my place, wake her up, try ta figure out what went wrong here."

"Whatever. Just get her off my hands, alright?"

"Christ, Mazaki. What have ya gotten yourself into?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "We kept our friends at bay all summer long  
Treated the days as if they'd kill us if they could  
Wringing out the hours like blood-drenched bedsheets"
> 
> Something short to tide you over while the next chapter is being worked on, and also to build on the narrative structure of this arc. Hope you enjoy.


	8. Cry for Judas

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Some things you do just to see how bad they'll make you feel  
Sometimes you try to freeze time 'til the slots are a blur of spinning wheels  
But I am just a broken machine  
And I do things that I don't really mean
> 
> Long black night  
Morning frost  
I'm still here  
But all is lost
> 
> Speed up to the precipice and then slam on the brakes  
Some people crash two or three times and then learn from their mistakes  
We are the ones who don't slow down at all  
And there's nobody there to catch us when we fall"

Daitokuji's business didn't get many customers.

It was the nature of the beast; most people assumed that his clientele were yakuza and got too spooked to approach the shop. Sure, he might've done work on a few without knowing, but it was unprofessional to ask about someone's personal life while working—that was a hairdresser's schtick, not his. And the kinds of people who had the guts to check the parlor out anyways were almost always teens with no money and less sense.

So Daitokuji's business didn't get many customers. Whatever. The few that came in were all willing to fork over enough yen to get a quality job. And that was enough. But today, for some reason, not a single person walked in through his doors. Daitokuji was having a long string of days like these, and he was starting to get worried that...

That...

* * *

Eggs were the core of the delinquent's diet, in Hideo's opinion. Nutritious. Cheap as long as she didn't spring for the yuppie health-nut organic stuff. Plentiful. Easy to cook. Could be prepared in a refreshing variety of ways. Went well with practically everything. A woman couldn't live off ramen, after all. 

Hideo was something of an expert when it came to cooking eggs at this point. Omelets, fried, boiled; she could whip them up in no time flat and do practically anything with them except for the fancy stuff like poaching.

So naturally, they were Hideo's go-to option whenever she was entertaining visitors. Hideo cracked an egg against the bowl with a deft touch, and the groan that came from Hideo's bed alerted her to her guest's awakening. "Yo, d-" Hideo shook her head. Now wasn't the time. "'ey, Mazaki. How're ya doing?"

* * *

The first time shadow awoke after they fell into the darkness, they emerged from the ocean of darkness, dripping with acrid corruption while alien wings sloughed off their back. The sharp sting of liquor in Anzu's mouth, sizzling in a deep wound on her tongue, was what dragged them from their slumber and into the "waking" world. 

Something felt different. Darker, deeper. Memories of burning rage and impure justice stained their mind, and-

Glass broke. Static agony. "FUCK OFF!"

* * *

She thrust a wad of yen into Daitokuji's hands, staggering from side to side. The girl was clearly blackout drunk or near it. Calling a cab and getting her home would be the objectively right thing to do. Which was why Daitokuji's hand was making its way to his cell while his eyes automatically counted the cash.

That was a lot of money. A lot, a lot. Did she break into her parents' safe or something?

Right thing to do. Of course. Focus on that, not on the tantalizing pile of bills. 

Daitokuji had almost finished dialing a taxi when she shoved another fistful of yen at him.

* * *

Back and forth and up and down and left and right they swung, smashing into apart through wood plaster metal while Anzu screamed,  _ screamed _ , shards ripping and tearing and destroying and burning across and through her-

Everything broke. Static agony.

* * *

"AND YA RIPPED HER OFF, TOO? WHAT THE  _ HELL _ !"

"I know this looks bad, but-"

"GIMME TH' MONEY, JACKASS!"

"But-"

"NOW!"

"Okay, okay. Sheesh..."

"Where's th' rest of it?"

"I may have spent the majority of her cash on shop repairs."

"Oh, fuck  _ off _ ."

* * *

The third time they came to, the shadow wasn't in Anzu's body. They were still locked in the puzzle. But something felt wrong. An inferno bathing them, purifying them, destroying them-

They panicked, twisting and warping and shifting in and out of shadows until they were around Anzu's neck again. She yelled, swearing as the heat seared her skin, but the flames refused to hurt her. Anzu was the keeper of the puzzle, whether she liked it or not. Nothing would hurt her on their watch. Not even the amulet itself.

She kept screaming profanities as she staggered out of her dwelling, gas hissing out of the oven as she slammed the door shut behind her.

Glass broke. Static agony.

* * *

There was a moment of silence, and Hideo was about to ask her question again when the dull thud of something heavy crashing into the wall startled her, accompanied by the crack of plaster splintering. Hideo's eyes snapped to the point of impact, where that fancy gold pyramid thing Mazaki had been wearing last time they'd met was embedded in her wall.

Hideo turned towards Mazaki, caught between wrath and concern. "Yo, what th'-" She blinked once. Twice. "Whuh..." Wiping her eyes, Hideo took a step forward. Her head whipped back and forth between the crack in her wall and the amulet that hung around Mazaki's neck.

Mazaki wrapped the necklace's chain around her hand, as if to throw it again, but just sighed and flopped down on Hideo's bed instead. A few seconds passed. Then she squinted at the ceiling, murmuring, "Where am I?"

* * *

The second time the shadow came to, they were staring at a mirror, Anzu's face flushed a furious red.

They observed her reflection for a few moments, completely still as something slowly sliding out of her fingers purred. What had she...

Anzu's other hand twitched, and the shadow realized too late that she held the Millennium Puzzle's chain in a vice grip. 

Glass broke. Static agony.

"TAKE THIS! AND THIS! AND THIS!"

The shadow didn't know it was possible for them to get knocked out through brute force. 

* * *

"My digs," Hideo said automatically, still struggling to process what happened. Was she hallucinating? That had to be it, right?

Mazaki startled, and Hideo could see the gears turning furiously in her head as she tried to recall what she did last night. It would be amusing if it wasn't so worrying. "Oh my god, did I-"

"Don't worry, I didn't do anything untoward while you were soused." Hideo rolled her eyes. "I may be a dirtbag, but I ain't th't kinda dirtbag. Now-"

"Why am I here?!"

"Because ya passed th' fuck out at Daitokuji's blind stinkin' drunk, somebody needed ta pick ya up, and I had a feelin' that ya wouldn't want ya folks ta see ya like... th't."

" _ DRUNK?! _ "

* * *

While Anzu focused on putting one foot in front of the other, stumbling every step as she doggedly hiked to whatever her destination was, the shadow protected her. They wrapped Anzu in shadow, puppeted monstrous silhouettes behind the eyes of any who dared gaze upon her with ill intent, made the way behind her winding and labyrinthine... it was the least they could do.

They were starting to remember. The victim's regret. The vessel's rage. Their own  _ glee _ . 

The shadow was split down the middle. One half of them, deep and dark and terrible, argued that no matter how badly the boy regretted his deeds, he had still trespassed upon Anzu's soul and so deserved his punishment. Thus it was written, thus it was law. The other half, growing to become something resembling a human, countered that he was yet a  _ boy  _ who had time to grow and atone. Thus it was felt, thus it was desired.

But the shadow had to ignore the division for now. For the vessel—no, Anzu—was in danger. 

And it was their duty (and desire) to protect her.

* * *

"Yeah, drunk. So can we please t-"

"Was I at a bar? A drug den?"

Hideo could understand Mazaki's panic. She really could. A strait-laced girl like her suddenly waking up hungover in a known lesbotic casanova's (or at least that's how Hideo thought of herself) apartment had every right to feel confused and alarmed. 

However, Hideo also had every right to feel just as confused and alarmed because each time she took her eyes off of that freaky piece of gold kitsch while Mazaki was fiddling with it in her hands—which she did nearly all the time—the next time she looked, it was around her neck again. Judging by the way Mazaki flinched whenever that happened, Hideo wasn't seeing things. 

One thing was clear: before Hideo could get answers, she'd need to get Mazaki to stop freaking out about everything else. "Daitokuji's is... it's a lot of things."

"Quit avoiding the question!" 

Mazaki looked like she was a few seconds away from hocking the amulet at Hideo's head. Hideo put her hands up, trying to placate her guest as she struggled to find a delicate way to put what would probably be the hardest thing for Mazaki to accept about her new... situation. "Well. Uh. Here's the thing."

* * *

"I've gotta warn you, this is gonna hurt," Daitokuji said as he sat the drunk girl down in the chair.

She just laughed.

* * *

"Spit it out!"

"Okay, okay!"

* * *

Daitokuji could already tell this was going to be a headache. Muttering darkly, he got out his inking kit-

* * *

Mazaki blanched. "I GOT A TATTOO?" Hideo idly wondered if she was about to faint. 

"Yeah. A dragon, wrapped right around your neck." She shrugged. Maybe playing it off casually would get Mazaki through this whole process quicker? "A bit tacky, if ya ask me, but I think ya pull it off."

White as a sheet, Mazaki slumped and clutched her head. "Oh my god. Oh my god oh my god oh my god."

"Don't worry 'bout th' initial aftercare, I took care of it f'r ya. Ya were out f'r a solid twenty-four hours, so you're past the tricky part. Now just make sure ya-"

"MY PARENTS ARE GOING TO KILL ME!"

"Er." Right. Uptight kid, uptight-er parents. "Well-"

"Oh my god, is my tongue still bleeding, why does it taste like metal..."

Hideo cringed. "Bad news."

* * *

-and began mentally mapping out the spot she wanted pierced. What kind of whacko wanted a piercing where there was already a big wound? Yeesh.

* * *

Mazaki was just one startling revelation away from fainting. "I... pierced..."

"Yeah. Ya did. I know you're in the middle of a personal, life-alterin' crisis r'now, but can we please talk about how ya weird fucking amulet thing keeps movin' back ta ya neck wheneva' I take my eyes off it?" Having finally arrived at the topic at hand, Hideo prepared herself for another tide of panicked bullshit.

She was pleasantly surprised. "You can see it? Y- you asked me, of course you can see it." Mazaki took a deep, shuddering breath. "Alright. Okay. Okay okay okay. First of all, my necklace is cursed-"

"No duh."

"-cool, you can accept that. Great." Deep breath, in and out. Again. A third time. Hideo could practically see Mazaki removing herself, layer by layer, from whatever memory she was dredging up. "The...  _ thing  _ inside the puzzle possesses me whenever somebody does something 'untoward' to me, or really pisses me off in some other way. It convinces the offender to play a game with it, then breaks their brain when it wins. Because it always wins.

"The amulet did the same thing to my friend last night, and I-" Oh, there were the tears. "I think I made it  _ worse _ when I tried to save him, and-"

While Mazaki bawled her eyes out, Hideo turned her words over in her head. There were two things she knew about this whole mess: that the amulet moved back onto Mazaki's neck whenever she took it off, and that the day they'd met in Kame Game, the day where they played that dinky card game, there was this gleam in her eyes- no. Gleam wasn't the right word. It was almost like the inverse of a shine, this void where Mazaki's humanity should've been.

It was weird as all fuck, but enough evidence was there for Hideo to believe Mazaki's yarn. Maybe.

Okay, screw maybe, that girl was crying way too hard for her story to be anything but the cold, hard truth.

By the time Mazaki had collected enough of herself to tentatively step out of the bed and explore the (extremely cramped) apartment, Hideo had an omelet hot and ready for her. Chopped onions, mushrooms, cheese, herbs, salt, pepper. All the stops had been officially pulled. "Er." Hideo rubbed the back of her neck and sighed. "Look, I know things ain't exactly... I... fuck, I don't have anythin' ta say ta all. Th't. But here's some grub. Eat up, you're bound to be hun... gry... uh..."

At that moment, Hideo remembered that she neglected to inform Mazaki of two very important facts.

* * *

The night chill bit through Anzu's tunic, freezing even the shadow to the depths of their golden spine.

* * *

One: her clothes were all torn to pieces. It was amazing she made it to Daitokuji's before dying of hypothermia, considering how cold that night had been.

* * *

The last thing that the shadow saw before the mirror broke them in a hundred different ways was the sink, porcelain white stained with clumps of earthy brown hair and streaks of red blood.

* * *

Two: she had shaved off nearly every hair on her head to the point of extinction, leaving only a choppy buzz cut behind.

* * *

Sometimes, the satisfaction of being right was a terrible burden to bear. And for once, as Hideo loaded Mazaki's unconscious body into Daitokuji's car, she felt that weight.

* * *

Hideo was expecting a scream. Maybe more helpless tears. Instead, Mazaki gently bumped her head against the mirror and groaned.

"If ya wanna change into..." Hideo gestured at Mazaki's ensemble, "not that, I laid out some clothes for ya on th' other side of th' bed."

Mazaki stared at Hideo, clearly perplexed. "I'm a solid half foot taller than you, why-"

"D'ya really wanna know th' answer ta th't question?"

"...got it." Looking around, Mazaki furrowed her brow. "Where's the bathroom?"

Hideo winced, hissing through her teeth.

* * *

As it turned out, a teenager with barely any money couldn't afford a swanky penthouse in downtown Domino. In fact, the best Hideo could do was a cramped studio apartment in a sketchy building in a sketchier part of the city.

So rather than having the luxury of a personal bathroom, Hideo and all the other residents of her floor all shared a single public one. Hideo had advised Anzu against entering, but a single withering glare from the shadow's vessel shut her up.

While the rift between Anzu and the shadow widened, they gained awareness of the world around her even when they weren't in direct control. They could see out of Anzu's eyes—no, it was more than that. It was as if they were a specter hovering next to her, ghostly body completely without sensation.

(A specter who respectfully turned their eyes away when she was changing in the extremely grody stall.)

The shadow peeked over Anzu's shoulder as she assessed herself in the mirror, gripping the sink with white knuckles as she leaned on its weight. With the baggy grey hoodie—for some reason, Anzu had elected to wear it over the "F.B.I." shirt despite the temperature within the building being perfectly comfortable—and ripped jeans, she looked like a completely different person.

With a jolt, the shadow realized that they were visible within the mirror too: as a shadowy, amorphous silhouette, with their only distinguishing features being an extremely spiky head and a golden Eye of Wdjat emblazoned on their chest. Somewhere in the back of their mind, another piece of a (not necessarily theirs) identity clicked into place. If they had a mouth, they would have smiled at finally being able to see their reflection.

So busy was the shadow admiring their visual—if not physical—form that they didn't notice Anzu's reflection tearing itself away from its position in the mirror until it grabbed their's by the throat, slammed it into the floor, and repeatedly punched it where their face should've been. Their spirit followed their reflection's lead, and the shadow would've been unsettled by the sensation of being forced onto their back without actually being able to feel anything if it weren't for the pain blooming across their entire being.

The metaphysical beating was mercifully short. Anzu's reflection dragged the shadow to their feet and snarled, "Listen, you demonic bastard. You have been nothing but a thorn in my side ever since I made the mistake of putting you on, so I need you to understand this: the moment I find a way to pass you off to somebody else or, miracle of miracles,  _ destroy you for good,  _ we are done. Now sit back, shut up, and stay in the back of my mind until then. Got it?" All the while, the corporeal Anzu just kept staring into the mirror with a stony gaze without moving a muscle.

The shadow simply nodded.

"Good. Now stay out of my way, you stupid thorn in my side."

Another piece slotted into place as Anzu left the bathroom. Thorn, huh? It was better than nothing, at least.

* * *

If Hideo was being slightly less professional (in her humble opinion, "friendly neighborhood delinquent" was a valid profession), her first thought when Mazaki entered the room would've been about how she absolutely rocked the grunge look. Granted, Mazaki was also clearly depressed and somehow still exhausted despite her twenty-four hour nap, so Hideo was still more concerned than anything else. But still.

However, Hideo was doing her best to be professional, so her first thought was instead panicking about Mazaki's bloody nose. "Holy shit, Mazaki, are you-"

"I'm fine, I'm fine." Mazaki waved off her concerns, offering a tired smile as she wiped away the blood from her face. Hideo was fairly sure that it was 0% genuine, but she let it drop. "Now. How about that food?"

Mazaki dug into the omelet like a starving dog, emptying her plate in just three and a half minutes. Hideo was almost surprised that she didn't start literally licking her plate clean too. 

"So."

"So." Mazaki took a deep breath. "I'm really sorry for-"

"Don' worry 'bout it, doll. S'not like I had a shift yesterday anyways."

Blinking rapidly, Mazaki gawped at Hideo. "You have a  _ job _ ?"

"How did ya think I paid for this place? Salad bar ain't much, but it takes care of rent." Beat. "Although removin' th' piercings an' degelling my hair is a massive pain. Easily halfa my mornin' routine." Hideo raised a singular eyebrow, and Mazaki giggled. Her laugh was- no. No no no. Mentally smacking herself on the back of her head, Hideo swerved her train of thought onto the next track over. She was  _ not _ going there.

Mazaki laughed for a long time, desperation and hysteria leaking into her chuckles. It was actually incredibly uncomfortable to watch after Hideo forced herself out of la-la-land. After almost a minute, Mazaki stopped, presumably getting whatever emotions that choking laugh was filled with out of her system. "Sorry it's just... I..." 

"No need ta explain, d-" Focus. "Mazaki. You've had a time. I, uh. Yeah." They sat there in silence for a few moments, unsure of what to say. "I know it ain't none of my business, but," Hideo rubbed the back of her neck, looking away. "Is there any way I can help ya out? Sounds like you're dealin' with a. Lot."

Mazaki snorted, and Hideo was worried that she was going to start laughing again before she spoke. "I think the best thing you can do for me right now is take me home. I need to... I don't know. I definitely made a huge mess during my, uh," she made a vague gesture, and Hideo nodded along, "thing last- not even last night, the night before that. Wow. Anyways, I need to clean that up. Other things too. You know."

"Yeah. Yeah." Hideo exhaled and got up, swiping both of their plates and depositing them neatly in the sink to wash later. "Aight, gimme a minute to get ready, then let's go."

* * *

Over the years, Hideo had gotten used to the stares. First as an urchin, then as a punk. They stopped bothering her a long time ago. They made her feel proud, even. Each dirty look was a badge of honor, showing that she existed and it was everyone else's problem.

That was her, though. Mazaki was different, Hideo could tell. Even when passers-by weren't actively gawking at her, she shrunk in on herself to avoid their gazes, flinching whenever somebody's eyes passed over her; like she was expecting a slap or a sharp word. And when they glared at her, judged her, took in every inch of her and found her wanting...

Hideo's heart panged whenever she saw it. "Ya good?" she asked as they stepped off the train, walking towards her companion's address. Mazaki didn't tremble when she was on the verge of breaking into tears. It was the opposite, actually: she became as still as a statue except for each step forward, the dead look in her eyes betraying no emotion. Either that or she started screaming and looking for the closest thing to throw. It really depended on which flavor of messed-up she was feeling at the time, from what Hideo could tell.

Forcing herself to nod, Mazaki said, "Yes, I-"

"Th't was a rhetorical question. Ya obviously ain't." Hideo stuffed her hands deep into her pockets as she reached for a way to articulate her thoughts. "I know it's rough. All'a this. People." Wow, she was such an idiot. "Back when it used ta bother me a bunch, I took a few seconds ta remind myself th't... gah, it's. Stupid." Deep breath. "Th't it was all my own choice ta put th' real me out into th' world, and now th't it's done, it's everyone else's problem ta deal with."

Anger was not what Hideo expected. "It wasn't my choice!" Mazaki erupted, fists balled. "I was drunk and being stupid and I just wanted to- to- I don't know, I just-"

"It mighta been a bad choice—I personally don't think so, but eh—but it was your own choice." Hideo poked Mazaki's chest to drive her point home, and immediately regretted it when she leveled her ferocious stare at her. "Own it, ya jackass. Even if ya don't like th' consequences, they're  _ your  _ consequences."

"I..." 

Before Mazaki could formulate a response, they turned a corner, and both of their jaws dropped at the sight. The charred remains of a massive fire were all that remained of Mazaki's building. It looked less like an apartment complex than an abandoned war ruin. 

"Oh, fuck  _ me _ ."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Long black night  
Morning frost  
I'm still here  
But all is lost
> 
> Feel the storm every night  
Hope it passes by  
Hallucinate a shady grove where Judas went to die  
Unfurl the black velvet altar cloth  
Draw a white chalk Baphomet  
Mistreat your Altar Boys long enough and this is what you get  
Sad and angry... can't learn how to behave  
Still won't know how in the darkness of the grave
> 
> Long black night  
Morning frost  
I'm still here  
But all is lost"
> 
> Fun fact: there's some interesting symbolism in the specific albums that this and the last chapters' titles came from. Now, on to business.
> 
> First of all, no, Hideo/Anzu is not going to happen, no matter how much Hideo wishes that it would. Hideo is here as a character arc device, to help Anzu reach the new few steps in her growth. She'll obviously keep showing up and being important over the course of the next few chapters, but her prominence won't last long.
> 
> Secondly, there are reasons why Anzu reacted like *that* to everything that happened to her. One, she's a very angry person, deep beneath all of the friendship speeches and compassion. Two, she keeps herself grounded in friendship and compassion, and when (from her point of view) she willingly abandons those principles to inflict harm on one of her friends... well, betraying your closest-held principles like that tends to do a number on you. There's also specific reasons why she chose to go to Daitokuji's, but I only wanted to address what some of you may cry as OOC.
> 
> Until next time.


	9. Walk Like an Egyptian

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "All the old paintings on the tombs  
They do the sand dance don't you know  
If they move too quick (oh whey oh)  
They're falling down like a domino"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I preemptively apologize for this chapter.

No matter how sweet the embrace of darkness, no matter the manner of release, the dead were still bound by covenant. Thus it was written, thus it was law. And so until his successors had passed their trials, he waited in the twilight.

It was a serene existence if nothing else. Unbound by (after)life, drifting in the memories of those ascending to their deserved reward, and those descending to Earth to mourn for their old lives without any recollection.

If time existed in that dichotomy of dusk and dawn he quickly lost track of it. His duty was the only anchor that bound him to the soil and sand and so he clung to it with the strength of dedication, never forgetting. The time was soon. 

He could not give in.

The time was soon.

He could not forget.

The time was soon.

He could not forgive.

The time was soon.

A ripple.

The time was now.

A crack.

The time was now/(n)ever/nonexistent.

A break.

The time was-

Shadi opened his eyes.

* * *

Fate moved in mysterious ways. Contorting in on itself, twisting and breaking into an entirely new species. Shadi couldn't lie; it unnerved him. Whatever, whenever, whyever it was, it was wrong in a way that should have been impossible and it was already too late to return to the proper order. 

Perhaps at the very least, the anomaly could be stopped before more damage was done.

Shadi could feel it on the periphery; pulsing, sending waves of broken fortune across the ocean. And yet... and yet... 

He could not abandon his duty.

The keepers were forever bound to their bloodline's tombs, in life and death and all in between. Thus it was written, thus it was law. Shadi supposed he was fortunate after a fashion; the other lines had much less glorious and hallowed grounds to guard, meager hovels hollowed out in the bowels of once great ruins rather than a web of history stretching across the city and into the valley. But the curse's magic had faded from many of the halls Shadi was charged with guarding after being trod so many times by the feet of the public. The spell remained in only a scant few sanctuaries, where Shadi watched. And waited. And prayed.

Fate still moved though, no matter how distorted. So when Shadi felt the graverobbers breaking the seal, smelled the rotten greed and musty curiosity in their hearts, he knew that there was yet a path to the anomaly. If one defiled the silence of the king's rest, they must be punished. Thus it was written, thus it was law. While pursuing that justice, Shadi was freed from his covenant with the tomb, and allowed to follow the perpetrators to the ends of the Earth.

And that was exactly what he did.

* * *

Shadi had a complicated relationship with modernity. The advances of man were truly wondrous to behold, some even outstripping the sorcery that now pumped through his not-veins instead of blood. Yet there was something missing from it, something key that most didn't even notice was gone. 

Remembrance.

Always pushing forward mindlessly, never thinking to look backwards and reflect on lessons hard learned. Jumping to-

He shivered as a member of the great masses walked straight through him, talking on one of those damned colorful bricks. The abominations before the eyes of man and God alike emitted eerie waves which disrupted Shadi's spirit in a uniquely unpleasant manner. It was akin to having his whole body fall asleep, a feeling made worse by the fact that he lacked physical form.

Right, right. His mission. Shadi floated through the crowd, following the two defilers as they made their way towards one of the flying machines that called this place a home. It had been difficult, waiting months for the intruders to return to their homelands. He contented himself with slaying a few of their less noticeable minions as time crawled by, but now the hour of punishment was nearly at hand. At the speeds with which these "planes" flew, he would surely reach the anomaly's source and deal with these criminals in no time.

* * *

Being airsick was an entirely new sensation for Shadi, and he hated it.

In his humble opinion it was entirely unfair that ghosts had to experience it too.

* * *

The "museum" was a grotesquerie. Row after row of sacred artifacts and storied histories, neatly packed up into glass cages for the commonfolk to gawp at. The sheer disrespect, the flagrant arrogance, the inanity of the half-truths printed on placards... it made Shadi's nonexistent stomach churn. 

(It was almost as bad as how it felt to ride in the guts of that devilish iron bird.) 

He would be tempted to burn it all down and let the flames stand as a lesson and punishment for all who dared trespass on such sacred principles, but Shadi could not bear to destroy what little essence of their history remained in these artifacts. 

Shadi found himself in front of a mummy and immediately reconsidered the pros and cons of arson. If he had any breath in him, it would've caught. How dare they, how  _ dare they _ ! Anger fused with a deep, deep sadness inside Shadi's soul and ran down his cheeks inside hot, molten tears.

"Why are you crying?" 

The boy's question didn't even register in Shadi's mind at first. After all, no one should've been able to see him. Yet... Shadi could feel the child's kind-but-melancholy stare trained on him, piercing past the veil and into the spectral twilight of his existence.

It was almost funny. With that wild, multicolored hair and those wide eyes, he almost looked like the Nameless Pharaoh in the steles. Almost. 

Sort of. 

It was rather difficult to draw parallels between a Japanese schoolboy and a member of ancient Egyptian royalty. 

"These tears are not mine." Shadi surprised himself with his own forthrightness. "This shriveled form... he has become a doll of dust. But he is still the pharaoh forever; his spirit lives on in his name. Even the eternal sleep is denied to him, and the cry of his soul becomes the tears running down my cheeks."

The boy's eyes fell on the Millennium Scales, and Shadi knew that it was time to make his exit before he asked any awkward questions. He leaned down to pat him on the head—being seen outside of a judgment was a rare occurrence for him, and he always held a special fondness for those who acknowledged his presence—when the child whipped towards the entrance, eyes bugging out of his head. 

Shadi stood stock-still. The anomaly was  _ near _ , unbearably so. It felt so wrong, so unnatural, so antithetical to his very being that it took all of his willpower to not retreat back to the tomb then and there. And that horrible sensation all radiated from a young man in shabby clothes bickering with a companion bearing a pompadour ridiculous enough to rival the boy's hair and the pharaoh's both.

The shorter one with the stupid hair gesticulated wildly, clearly exasperated. "I'm telling ya, doll, we shoulda just saved th' yen an'-"

"And what, Hideo?" The anomaly's source rolled his eyes, voice surprisingly light for a man his age. "Bought three more cups of ramen? Our best bet is meeting up with somebody who actually knows their stuff so we can..."

"Anzu! Anzu, is that you?"

Or... not a young man. Shadi forced himself to fade further, disappearing from even the discerning sight of the boy. 

Anzu froze as the boy stumbled towards her, his face a concoction of desperation, relief, and worry. The only word she managed to choke out was a solitary, "Yugi?" before he was on her. 

"Aaaaaanzuuuu!"

Her lips quirked upwards in a tired half smile as Yugi wiped away his tears. "Hey."

"H-hey."

There was a suspended moment of quiet that would have made the gods of old feel awkward. The young man with the inane hair (unlike Yugi's dignified, royal stylings) cleared his throat, saying, "Uh, Mazaki. Are ya gonna introduce us or what?" He meticulously counted his blessings that the fool with the foolish haircut broke the silence. 

"Yugi, this is Hideo. She's been letting me stay at her place since..." Anzu winced. "Mine burned down. Hideo, this is Yugi, my best friend. We've known each other since we were little kids."

So Hideo wasn't a man either. Curious. If the option were available to him outside of extraordinary circumstances, perhaps Shadi would have made a resolution to get out more to acquaint himself with the culture of the modern era.

Hideo gave Yugi a mock salute. "Yo."

"I. Er. Hi. Hello." Shadi couldn't blame Yugi for being intimidated by the woman; she seemed like a complete thug. "It's... nice to meet you?"

"Eh, I guess so."

Elbowing Hideo in the ribs, Anzu hissed, "Hideo, be nice!"

"Do I have to?"

"YES!"

"But he's a  _ boy _ ."

"We are  _ teenagers _ ; you do not get to complain about cooties _ .  _ Now make nice. Yugi's my best friend!"

"Fiiiiiiine." Hideo rolled her eyes and extended her hand towards Yugi. "Nice ta meetcha too."

Yugi, who appeared completely bewildered by the quibble, tentatively took Hideo's hand. "Th- OW OW OW OW"

Wincing, Hideo immediately let go of his hand. "Shit, sorry."

Anzu's glare could've melted steel beams.

"I'm serious! I didn't know he'd be th't much of a wimp okay I'll stop talking now."

While Hideo backed away, sulking like a kicked puppy, Yugi turned to his friend. "Anzu, lI'm really glad you're okay, but... what happened to you?! Your hair and your clothes and-"

"I don't want to talk about it." Anzu shrank in on herself, burying her chin behind the expansive tracts of her grey hoodie. "I just... I did something stupid, my apartment got set on fire, I had nowhere else to go, and Hideo took me in. That's it."

"Please, Anzu, just tell me!" Yugi's upper lip started wobbling. Oh, no. "IWasSoWorriedIThoughtWhateverHappenedToJounouchiHappenedToYouAndYouWentMissingForAlmostAWeekAndAndAnd"

"I..." The dazed expression on Anzu's face was wiped away and replaced with dawning horror as Hideo looked away, tugging on his collar. "What happened to Jounouchi?"

"I have no clue! When we got back to the shop, there was an ambulance parked outside, and a bunch of people were loading him onto a gurney."

Anzu stumbled backwards, all the blood draining from her face. "No. No no no no no no."

"'Ey, doll, are ya..." Hideo reached out to touch Anzu's shoulder, but she was already turning towards the exit. 

"I just... give me a few- I need to go." She sprinted out of the museum, heedless of her friends' cries, and Shadi followed after her. He knew nothing of whatever pointless drama the anomaly had entangled herself in, but it was absolutely crucial that he find out what was so queer about her to break fate itself.

Face caught between anguished sobs and dead numbness, Anzu hurtled into an alley and collapsed against one of the walls. She took a great, heaving breath, in and out, as her fists balled around the rumpled edges of her hoodie. 

Her expression transmuted into a terrifying rage, and she growled a single syllable that echoed throughout the alley: " _ You _ ."

For a moment, Shadi thought he had been discovered. But some  _ thing  _ peeled itself off of Anzu's shadow, clinging to the wall across from her like a pool of darkness. A shining Eye of Wdjat was emblazoned on its chest, and its head was a mess of waving spikes. "Anzu, I..."

" _ WHAT DID YOU DO TO HIM? _ "

"Such torture was not my intention."

Anzu got to her feet, leaning towards her possessed shadow and looking for all the world like she was about to sock it in its face-equivalent. "So you know what happened to him!"

Shadi didn't know a shadowy abomination could look guilty, but somehow it did. "Partially. The Penalty Game, it... was not brought to proper completion. I can  _ feel _ it, howling with anguish, denied its proper purpose. Its anger is great, and your friend is its only target." Frost crept across Shadi's spectral heart as he heard the shadow's words. Was it even possible...? All of the items were accounted for, except-

"I don't give a flying  _ fuck _ about any of that," Anzu snarled, taking another step forward. "Tell me how I can help him!"

"I don't know."

She simply stared at the shadow for a moment, expression unreadable. Then Anzu reached into her hoodie, tugged at a chain that Shadi had only glimpsed before, and retrieved the Millennium Puzzle.

There. That was  _ it _ . Shadi could feel it; every cog out of place, every disturbed destiny, it all bled out from that girl having the Puzzle. This warranted more investigation. He began flying forward, Millennium Key in hand. If he could just see into this girl's mind, maybe he could find something he could fix, rearrange to set destiny on its proper course...

"Well, Thorn, you better figure out a way, or-"

Shadi had the distinct impression of "Thorn's" eyes widening, despite the fact that the being had no discernible eyes to see with. "Anzu, look out!"

But it was too late. Shadi slammed the key into the back of her shaved head, something clicked, and all went dark.

* * *

Shadi opened his eyes. 

The corridor before him was hewn out of slate, the luminescence emanating from the veins of reflective glass that snaked through the stone the only thing that lit the hall. There were arteries of obsidian too; an entire circulatory system of shining stone contrasting and entwining with one another. 

This made no sense. A girl as... unique as Anzu should've had a much more vibrant room, bursting to the seams with her persona, personality, and memories. Yet there was nothing-

Shadi's gaze drifted to the end of the hall, and his eyes widened. It shouldn't be possible, yet at the end of the hallway was a pair of doors: one made out of cracked mirrors, the other out of midnight obsidian with the Eye of Wdjat engraved in its center. Those streaks of glass branched out from the mirror door, shining brightly despite the cracks buried deep inside them that had surfaced for all to see, but the blackness seeping from the shadowy door seemed to suck the light up and spit it out in turns, almost as if the darkness was at war with itself.

One room to one soul. Thus it was written, thus it was law. But if everything else about this girl's very existence defied the laws of millennia and Millennium past and present, why should she obey the dictate of the Key? If Shadi had any humor left in him, he would've laughed nervously. As it was, the only outward sign of his befuddlement was the ghostly sweat dripping down his brow. Steeling himself, Shadi walked towards the twin doors, the echo of his steps louder than thunder, and wrenched the door of light open. 

The room within must have been breathtaking, once. A mirrored garden of shining fruit and glass foliage, reflecting the inner and outer beauty of this soul's bearer (and perhaps an overabundance of confidence as well). Now lines of obsidian slithered through the glossy steel floor and across the reflective walls—they reminded him of a dance studio—leaving cracks and cleft metal in their wake. That wasn't the only devastation the volcanic corruption wrought, though. Wherever it passed through a metallic garden, the "greenery" around it was withered and charred, as if a great fire had scarred the plants. The only untouched grove was at the very center, huddled closely together to conceal a tempest of color within that he only caught the barest glimpse of. Doors unconnected to anything but air hung all across the room, likely representing opportunities that Anzu let slip through her grasp that she couldn't stop thinking about. 

Whatever the last of the trees were protecting, it was clearly key to the inner conflict Anzu was grappling with. And if Shadi could see it for himself, he could begin unraveling the source of the knotted fate that surrounded the girl. Shadi stepped inside, then immediately regretted it when his stomach turned even worse than it had while on that dadblasted plane. The angles of her room warped, coiling in on themselves and- no, that wasn't it. They had always bent impossibly, but from the outside of her room, they aligned perfectly to convey the illusion of normalcy. Now Shadi could see why the obsidian couldn't get to the final grove: the way the room twisted made it impossible to reach it by foot. 

Regardless, he tried. And slipped, and fell over, and got thrown back to the ground by gravity suddenly remembering to obey natural laws again... It was a humiliating experience, not that Shadi would admit it. But it just made him more determined to get to the center. Perhaps a different approach was in order.

Wait. The doors!

Shadi ran along one of the more stable walls, sandals clacking against the cracked metal as he built up momentum. He tensed, leaned forward, and jumped, reaching for the first door. Miraculously, it let him through, leading to another door that was suspended midair. The angles aligned perfectly once more, creating a straightforward path to the next portal, yet there was one problem: there was no ground between him and it. 

However, if these doors existed, they must've served some greater purpose in Anzu's mind; a roundabout path to her innermost secrets that only she could follow. So Shadi stepped forward with full confidence. He was rewarded with a rather gauche painting of a massive green statue holding a ballerina slipper and sipping from a plastic cup shimmering into existence beneath his feet. An entire walkway of art accompanied it, leading to the next door, but as Shadi advanced the paintings began moving: flipping upside-down, spinning horizontally and vertically, splitting in two then recombining all in perfect time with one another.

For a single second, he managed to keep his balance. Then that second passed and the paintings deposited him on the room's floor flat on his face.

If he could just find the pattern... Shadi made his way to the door once more and began counting, painstakingly puzzling out the rhythm of the paintings. Alas, it was too much, too quickly for a mortal (or post-mortal) mind to keep track of. Yet Shadi refused to give up, if only out of principle. He was not going to admit defeat to a teenage girl, of all things!

Hold on. The paintings all followed a  _ rhythm _ . Shadi wasn't meant to find the pattern and walk across.

He was supposed to dance.

Taking a deep not-breath to center himself, Shadi began tapping his foot, exploring the beat of the paintings. One-and-up two-and-up three-and-up. One-and-up two-and-up three-and-up. It was a waltz. So waltz he did, following his instincts as he made his way across the bridge of art. One-and-up two-and-up three-and he was across.

Shadi danced his way through a half-dozen doors, growing closer to the center of Anzu's soul each time until he was gently deposited within the final glade. In the dead center, a near-featureless mirror sculpture in the rough likeness of Anzu stood proud in a tornado of photographs and paintings that surrounded it. The pictures' reflections played across the statue, creating a blurred, constantly-shifting  _ impression  _ of a person. Whatever happened to Anzu to distort her room to such a drastic extent, it also shook her very self to the core. Although Shadi doubted that Anzu herself realized it, she was clearly having a quiet, hidden crisis about her identity.

Unfortunately, there was nothing of use to Shadi here. Resigning himself to having wasted all of his time in Anzu's room, Shadi turned to leave the way he came. Then something golden shined in the corner of his eye, and he whirled around, plucking a single photograph from the storm. It felt heavy in his hand, as if he were holding a gravestone instead of a simple slip of paper. The scene the photograph depicted looked almost like a Renaissance painting in composition: a dramatic shot of Yugi forcing the Millennium Puzzle into Anzu's hands, the background drenched in darkness as she reluctantly took it from the boy. There was something missing, though. 

The final piece.

The change of fate was not Anzu's fault. Yugi was supposed to bear the burden of the Puzzle, but she unwittingly took it on in his stead by completing it herself. Brushing his thumb across the photograph, Shadi could hear Anzu whispering the words that sealed her fate:

_ I wish for the strength to fulfill my dreams! _

Knowing this, Shadi almost felt pity for her. This destiny, twisted as it was, was not hers to shoulder. But her true ownership of the Puzzle within this fate only conjured more questions, and so he still had one more task to fulfill here. Shadi stepped out of the grove and fell straight towards the exit, tumbling into the hallway between and landing on his feet. Now for the other half of Anzu's soul. Without a moment of hesitation, Shadi pulled open the obsidian door.

Within was a tomb. That was the only way Shadi could describe the room; dark and cold and so very, very ancient. The sandstone bricks were weathered with the sands of time, and New Kingdom pillars inscribed with hieroglyphs supported the ceiling. It was like he had somehow found his way back to his home. The only detail that disrupted the illusion was the strands of mirrored glass that wound through the chamber.

And Anzu, who was leaning against one of the walls and smiling lopsidedly. Something about her seemed different, although Shadi couldn't quite pin down what. The shadows seemed to wrap around her, sharpening her edges and making her seem both more and less than human. It made Shadi shiver.

Then she immediately ruined the impression by waving and broadening her smile. "Hey!"

Something was clearly off here. Someone manifesting in their own soul room had never happened before; whatever this was, it was an apparition of the spirit, an illusion meant to distract Shadi... or doom him. "Why are you here?" he asked, stiff. 

"No clue." The illusion shrugged.

"What."

"Like I said, I have no idea why I'm here! If I was Thorn, I'd probably say something like," Not Anzu affected a stiff posture, shadows springing from their scalp to imitate Thorn's signature spikes, "'This is where we'll play our game! What's wrong, are you afraid? Show some courage! Ohohohoho! Because that's definitely how real people laugh!'" The deep, gravelly impression likely would've made Shadi chuckle if he was still capable of good humor. Slumping back into a more casual stance, Not Anzu asked, "Seriously though, I could ask the same question of you. What are you doing  _ here _ , of all places?" Shadi almost made himself dizzy tracking the wild movement of her hands as she talked.

"I suppose from your perspective, I am an unwanted guest. Answering that question is the least I could do." Shadi paused, and Not Anzu rolled her eyes. "Anzu's very existence—or at least her ownership of the Puzzle—disrupts the threads of fate. I sought to punish her for defying destiny," Not Anzu narrowed her eyes, and the temperature of the room dropped by twenty degrees, "but have since learned that the transgression was not hers. Now I only seek answers, and what powers of the Millennium Puzzle hold sway over Anzu's soul."

Not Anzu began pacing in place, the shadows surrounding her flickering in their agitation. "Okay. Cool. Cool cool cool. Second question:  _ how  _ did you get here? I mean, this is my brain—I think?—so you... ohhhh wait." She snapped her fingers. "I remember now. Weird key thing, right?" 

"The power of the Millennium Key opens the door to one's soul. In the room of the soul, one discovers everything about a person... who they are, what they love, what they fear, even what they themselves do not know. I also possess the Millennium Scales, which weighs the deeds of sinners and puts them on trial." Shadi closed his eyes in contemplation. "But even I don't know the power of the Millennium Puzzle-"

"Seems to me like it's a pretty clear-cut case of possession, weird shadow magic, and that freaky Penalty Game thing, but go off I guess?"

Shadi elected to ignore Not Anzu. Rising to the illusion's bait would accomplish nothing. "-because it has never been solved. However, if I can see a person's soul room, I can see the power they possess. This opportunity... although the fault in destiny does not lie with Anzu, I cannot pass up the chance to unravel the Puzzle's mysteries. And perhaps claim them for my bloodline if I find you unworthy."

Not Anzu's stare pierced straight through Shadi, dissecting him, examining every inch of his soul. After a frozen second, she sighed and shook her head. "I would tell you to just get out of here while you still can, but something tells me you won't listen. This... thing you're after. Whatever it is. I can feel it, it  _ is  _ somewhere in here, wherever the real door to Thorn's soul is. At this point, Thorn would say something like, 'This is a game! A Shadow Game!' But to be totally honest..." The cloying shadows clinging to the ceiling faded into nothingness, revealing a vast, reality-defying labyrinth. "They have about as much control over this place as you. Good luck, and, uh. Keep an eye out." The illusion flashed Shadi a peculiar symbol with their index and middle fingers outstretched in different directions while the rest were curled in her palm (a hex, perhaps) and disappeared. 

The maze was a decrepit thing. It felt like walking through the corpse of some great beast. Ropes of rough obsidian crept along the walls, floors, and stairs, pulsing with a sickening darkness whenever Shadi passed by. Thin strands of the glass from Anzu's room glowed with weak luminescence, the capillaries of light providing the only illumination in the entire labyrinth.

And then there was the  _ rot _ . In all his years as a gravekeeper, Shadi had never seen stone decay like in this "Thorn's" room. Looking at the afflicted bricks and glyphs gave the same impression as maggots tunneling through the putrefying, necrotic flesh of a half-dead plague victim. Curiously, while shadows gathered near the outbreaks, the light of Anzu's mirrors was also the brightest there: encircling the rot, purifying it... healing it? 

Now that he was up close, Shadi could see two distinct varieties of obsidian in the maze: one that was rough and jagged, following the shining glass wherever it went, and one that was slick and oozed darkness. There was likely some meaning that could be extrapolated from that, but Shadi frankly had no clue where to even begin.

After a certain incident with the first door Shadi opened in the labyrinth, he concluded that caution was the best route to the center of the mind, and looked for clues as to the whereabouts of Thorn's true soul room instead of ripping open doors randomly. He occasionally caught sight of Not Anzu walking in the same direction as him, waving and trying to get his attention, but he stalwartly ignored the phantom. Doubtlessly she would lead him to naught but his own doom. 

There was no discernible pattern to the madness, in space or time. The labyrinth constantly shifted, shaking with ominous tremors as gravity reversed, walls moved, and stairs broke apart and reformed. Shadi saw himself passing by a location he had just been more than once, and followed his own footsteps when the inverse occurred. It was infuriating. (And nerve-wracking. What if he never found a way out?) 

The only consistent factor was the decay that infested the labyrinth. He knew by now that it was an alien thing, even to Thorn's mind—which meant as dangerous as it was, it may have indicated the power of the Puzzle. So he followed it, delving deeper and darker, passing through patches of decrepit stone that not even Anzu's glass dared touch. Not Anzu appeared a few times, vehemently shaking her head and crossing her arms in a large X, but he ignored her as he always had. And soon her visits became erratic, then stopped entirely once he was deep enough in the disease. 

It was dark. As a ghost, Shadi was afforded the privilege of perfect sight no matter how deep the shadow, but here he was as blind as a newborn lamb. The tremors here were near-constant, too, shaking the floor of...

...

...those were snores, not tremors.

Shadi may have made a mistake.

As if responding to his epiphany, something broke through the rotting brick with a sickening squelch. He could somehow make out the shape of it despite the total lack of light; the titanic claw being somehow darker than the utter blackness that surrounded Shadi.

He turned to run, skidded on the unnaturally smooth obsidian, and fell face-first. This was it, then. His true death. It was less dignified than Shadi had imagined. 

"YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" He jerked his head towards where the noise was coming from. "LET THERE BE LIGHT, MOTHERFUCKER!" And there was, indeed, light. An abundance of it as Not Anzu swung towards Shadi on a rope of intertwined rough black stone and reflective glass, extending a hand towards him. The colossal arm reared back, stunned.

As much as he wanted to hesitate, Shadi couldn't afford to waste that precious time, so he latched onto her hand with a desperate strength. Not(?) Anzu swooped away from the locus of infection, rendering the labyrinth a whirling blur as it spun shut behind them, trapping whatever force laid dormant in Thorn's mind. 

Spears of smooth darkness darted after them, and Shadi clung tighter as Not(?) Anzu spun, flipped, pirouetted, and dodged the shadows; Shadi's stomach following her trajectory in a distinctly unpleasant manner. Spinning around the rope, she twisted out of the way two whips lashing out at her head, jumped and pulled Shadi up with her to evade a blast of darker-than-dark, and all sorts of other contortionist maneuvers that were made all the more impressive by the fact that they were, in fact, physically possible. However, Shadi was too busy being sick to his nonexistent stomach to appreciate any of it properly.

Once they outpaced the darkness, Not(?) Anzu alighted atop the roof of a pristine room, panting heavily. "Are you okay?"

"I am well. Thank you." Shadi pulled himself to his feet, still dazed. "I must ask: why did you save me? You know I pose a threat to you and yours."

"Hmm..." Cradling the back of her head, Not(?) Anzu considered the question, lips pursed. "I mean, you might be kind of a pretentious ass, and sticking that key in the back of Anzu's head was a  _ pre-tty _ scummy thing to do, but. I don't think you deserve to die. Simple as that.

"But you really, really need to leave. Like, right now. Get  _ out _ of here, buster." Not(?) Anzu flicked him with her index finger right between his eyes before Shadi could so much as blink.

And then he blacked out.

* * *

When he awoke, he got immediately kicked in the face by Anzu. If Shadi didn't have the presence of mind to fade into intangibility a nanosecond before her foot would have impacted his chest, it would not have been pleasant.

"Who-"

Before Anzu could get another word in, Shadi began floating backwards. "You have passed my trial, Mazaki Anzu."

"What are you-"

"But your true potential has yet to be unleashed. I can sense it."

"Can you please-"

"I have three more souls to pass judgment upon. We will meet again at the appointed place—and soon."

"I swear-"

"There is much more for you to discover."

Shadi vanished before Anzu could kick him again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Walk like an Egyptian...  
Walk like an Egyptian..."
> 
> This is probably the most important chapter in the entirety of Shadow Games for setting up future arcs, bar none. Sorry for any rough prose, I hope you enjoyed regardless.
> 
> Thanks to UsagiSquared for editing this chapter, and thanks to the lovely @jasproses on Twitter for creating this lovely cover art: https://twitter.com/jasproses/status/1253396166303199236


	10. The Call

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "It started out as a feeling  
Which then grew into a hope  
Which then turned into a quiet thought  
Which then turned into a quiet word
> 
> And then that word grew louder and louder  
'Til it was a battle cry  
I'll come back  
When you call me  
No need to say goodbye
> 
> Just because everything's changing  
Doesn't mean it's never been this way before  
All you can do is try to know who your friends are  
As you head off to the war
> 
> Pick a star on the dark horizon  
And follow the light  
You'll come back when it's over  
No need to say goodbye
> 
> You'll come back when it's over  
No need to say goodbye"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I pounded out this chapter over the course of six hours, from 10:30 PM to 4:45 AM, and immediately published it. Edits will be coming soon, I promise.

When Hideo finally found Anzu, she got smacked right in the kisser by the flat of her roommate's foot. 

Hideo tumbled backwards, landing directly on her ass. It figured, she thought as she stared up at the cloudy sky. Years of gang battles, street fights, and knock-down drag-out brawls, and Hideo was laid low by a repressed, bony teenager who had never been in a serious fight. She might as well have ended her career as a part-time thug then and there with the way Anzu shattered her dignity. Hideo was vaguely aware of Anzu yelling at her, but she couldn't hear it over the ringing of her ears and the whimpering of her bruised ego.

Then Anzu flinched, yelping as she saw Hideo splayed out on the concrete. "Oh my god, Hideo, are you okay?"

She just fixed Anzu with a seething glare.

"I am _ so _ sorry, I thought you were someone else, and I'm sorry, and-" Anzu managed to wrangle her train of thought back onto a halfway sensible route and winced as she pulled Hideo to her feet. "Sorry," she said for the third time. "Did I break anything?"

"Naw." Rubbing her face, Hideo conducted a rapid field assessment of her injury and came to the extremely scientific conclusion that she was fine-ish. "I'll probably have a nasty shiner in th' mornin', but I'm good. Honestly, I'm impressed by ya form, doll. Where did ya learn shit like that?"

"Dance practice."

Hideo cocked her head to the side, considered Anzu's answer, cursed herself for thinking too hard while she was enduring such skull-splitting pain, and shrugged. "That scans. Anyways, where th' _ hell _ were ya, Mazaki? We've been lookin' for ya for almost an hour!"

"I... don't know." Anzu tugged at the grey hood that pooled flaccidly around her neck, and Hideo almost slapped her forehead before remembering exactly how much of a bad idea that was. 

"Whaddyamean ya don't know!"

Shoving her hands into her hoodie's pocket, Anzu said, "I ran out here, started arguing with Thorn-"

"Thorn?"

"Creepy shadow thing that possesses me."

"Right. Keep going."

"Then I was on the ground while some Egyptian dressed up in a white sheet was monologuing at me. I tried kicking him on instinct, my foot went right through his chest, and when he disappeared you were like... that. I think that jerk used you as a decoy while he phased out."

This time, Hideo forgot to restrain herself from pinching the bridge of her nose, and cursed a blue streak under her breath while Anzu looked on sympathetically. "Does this kinda stuff happen t'ya regularly, or..."

"Normally, I, or Thorn I guess, do 'this kinda stuff' to other people." Anzu sank deeper into her hoodie. "Being on the receiving end is definitely a new experience."

Hideo gave Anzu an appraising look, taking in the well of big teen feelings that was plain on her face. Most of it was an incomprehensible mess of angst to Hideo, but even she could parse the regret and guilt in her eye(bags; Anzu _ really _needed to get more sleep). Hideo straightened to the meager extent she could—which was to say, not at all—and said, "Look, doll, I don't have a single clue about what all of that was, but it's getting late. If ya wanna try to get answers outta this Kanekura guy, we need t' head back t' the museum before it closes. Aight?"

Anzu took a deep breath and nodded. "Let's get going, I'll have to worry about the ghost later." Walking out of the alleyway, Anzu giggled. "I can't believe that my life is so weird now that I have to say stuff like, 'I'll have to worry about the ghost later.'"

"You've been dealin' with this stuff for months," Hideo grumbled, following close behind. "Imagine how much of a shock it is for _ me _."

"Fair."

"Literally! Ya kicked me in the face!"

"I told you, I'm sorry!"

"If ya weren't my friend, I woulda thrashed ya sorry ass seven ways from Sunday for that little stunt ya pulled."

"...I'm your friend?"

Hideo glanced at Anzu to find her staring stalwartly ahead, trying to play her question off casually. She could hear the vulnerability in her voice, though. So it didn't even cross Hideo's mind to roll her eyes or sigh. "Yeah, ya are, ya big goofus."

"You know, only one other person's told me that." 

That nearly stopped Hideo in her tracks. "What."

"Yugi." A melancholy smile played across Anzu's lips as she spoke. "He told me I was his friend _ all the time _. When we first met each other, I thought it was annoying, but... I don't think he really had any friends before me. He just sat alone and played his games." She sighed. "When I finally sat next to him and asked him about this weird game of solitaire he was playing, he got so excited and rambled about it for the rest of the lunch period, doing this thing with his arms and hands..." Anzu flapped her hands to demonstrate. "I guess we were friends after that. Primarily because he wouldn't have it any other way and kept telling me that we were besties every day, but I didn't mind."

Kicking a rock into the street, Anzu continued. "I mean, I was an even bigger dork than him in a lot of ways. I got along with everyone else about the same, too. I was either too stuck up or too cheerful. Trying too hard to be nice or not working hard enough to keep my anger in check, or whatever. And when we got older, well." Anzu made a vague gesture indicating her entire body, and Hideo was grateful that she was too intimidating and too obviously a lesbian for most men to try and pursue her. Unfortunately, her friend had neither of those advantages. "Boys didn't know how to behave around me anymore, and I never connected with any of the other girls in my class. Well. There's Miho, I guess. But she's Miho."

"Ugh." Anzu rubbed the back of her neck. "I'm sorry for rambling at you, it's just... I know I've said this a lot this past week, but thank you for everything you've done for me."

"You're welcome. And, uh. Thanks for trusting me enough t' tell me all of that heavy stuff." She wasn't quite sure what to say to that, so Hideo defaulted to her instincts: she thumbed her nose, giving Anzu a rare genuine smile. "Seriously though, s'no problem. It's the least I could do for a dame as beautiful as you."

"Hideo, because you're my _ friend _and you recently got hit on the head by some ruffian, I'm going to give you a free pass on that one. Only that one, though. Any more and I'll smack you."

"Aw, thanks. You're a real sweetheart, Mazaki."

"I know~"

Before they knew it, Hideo and Anzu were inside the museum once again, ambling towards the director's office. Anzu stopped dead in her tracks, and Hideo nearly bumped her still-sensitive face into her back. "Do you see him?" Anzu whispered.

"See who?" Hideo blinked, and there was an Egyptian man in white walking out of the office, sparing Anzu a cold glare before walking straight into the wall and disappearing. "Was that-"

Anzu tore down the hallway without answering Hideo's obviously rhetorical question, turning a dime to peer into the director's office and exhaling sharply at what she saw. "Fuck."

Cursing her much shorter legs, Hideo caught up with Anzu. She'd never heard her utter so much as a single "damn" in their entire acquaintance, so Hideo wasn't sure what to expect that would prompt such profanity from the slowly-loosening-but-still-strait-laced Anzu.

A pair of dead bodies definitely wasn't it, though.

"What in the goddamn..." It's not like Hideo had never seen a corpse before. While they weren't a part of her daily routine, she occasionally stumbled across one or two in the more dangerous parts of town. But Hideo sure as hell wasn't counting on finding any in a classy museum. 

Hideo turned to look at Anzu, expecting to find her reeling, maybe on the brink of throwing up. She was half right; while Anzu was paler than usual and she seemed shocked, Hideo could tell that her brain was going into overdrive. As if to prove her point, Anzu grabbed Hideo by the wrist and began pulling her towards the exit. "C'mon, we need to _ go _!"

While she was quite confused, Hideo didn't resist. "Hold up, Mazaki, what are ya- d'ya know what happened t’-"

"Before he vanished, that Egyptian told me that there were still three people that he had to punish. Kanekura and whoever that other guy was make two. Which means the last one has to be... Yugi!"

"_Yugi?_ Why?"

"No, not Yugi, I was trying to catch his attention because he just walked inside," Anzu hissed as she waved a miserable-looking Yugi and Sugoroku over. 

"Anzu! We searched everywhere for you, w-" Yugi leaped towards Anzu, and she deftly sidestepped out of his way.

"Sorry, Yugi, but we have bigger things to worry about" Anzu headpat the dejected Yugi once, then turned towards Sugoroku. "Mr. Mutou, where does the professor who found the artifacts on display live?"

Blinking owlishly, Sugoroku said, "Professor Yoshimori? At Domino University, why do you ask?"

But Anzu was already out the door, still holding a bemused Hideo's wrist in a vice grip. "No time to explain. You two, stay put, and- wait, the museum is closing. You two, go home. _ Now _." Without another word, Anzu bolted into the street and dragged Hideo to the nearest bus stop. 

Hideo raised a single eyebrow at Anzu. "Ya can let go, ya know." 

Anzu was tapping her foot at such a rapid pace that it was a wonder that she didn't sprain her ankle, but she had enough presence of mind to loosen her grip on Hideo so her friend could break free. "C'mon c'mon c'mon," she muttered under her breath as she swiped away at her phone, a glint of panic in her eye. 

"Are ya gonna tell me what's goin' on, or are ya just gonna keep me in suspense th' whole way to this university place?"

"I think that Egyptian is here to punish the expedition for taking those artifacts from a tomb," Anzu explained. "Kanekura, one of the dead guys—god, they're _ dead _, I probably should've called the police—funded it. I don't know who the other one was, but if the Egyptian's killing the people involved..."

"Then th' professor who led them straight to th' tomb should be next." Hideo echoed Anzu's previous sentiment with a resounding, "Fuck. Mazaki, are ya sure we need to get involved with this? It doesn't sound like..."

The glare Anzu sent Hideo's way could've made any of the gang bosses Hideo had encountered piss their pants in fear. "I am not letting _ anybody else _ get hurt when I could've stopped it. Period."

Hideo raised her hands. "Point taken." A Domino City bus screeched to a halt in front of them and Anzu jumped onto it before its doors had fully opened, Hideo following her at a more reasonable pace. The two spent the entire bus ride in terse silence, Anzu's knee bouncing up and down while Hideo literally twiddled her thumbs. They were already getting enough dirty looks without discussing ghosts and ancient curses, so gabbing about whatever plan Anzu had in mind (which Hideo suspected amounted to jack and shit) was right out. Neither of them were feeling keen on small talk, either. 

All told, the bus ride to Domino University took far longer than it should've thanks to evening traffic and some minor route confusion on Anzu's part, which she berated herself for while Hideo awkwardly patted her shoulder at the transfer station. The entire time, the desperation and guilt in Anzu's expression grew. Frankly, Hideo was impressed that she didn't burst into a bout of stress crying while on the bus.

They did ultimately arrive, though, and Anzu took off like a rocket towards the entrance of the university. Hideo's hand reaching for the back of her hoodie was faster, though. "Hideo, what are you-"

"Anzu. _ Breathe _." Hideo's voice was measured in contrast to Anzu's increasingly-frantic words.

"I don't have time to breathe, I need to-"

"Listen to me. If we charge in there, you lookin' like a junkie about to have a heart attack from all th' stress and me lookin' like I'm one spiked baseball bat from tellin' the entire archaeology department t' come out and play, askin' t' go t' the office of a renowned professor that's probably filled with priceless artifacts... we'll be lucky if they don't call th' cops on us then and there."

Anzu deflated. "Then what are we supposed to do?"

"Well." Hideo cracked her neck, peering through a window to get a look at the room listings next to the sleepy guide's desk, "If they're gonna treat us like criminals, we might as well act it, huh?"

"Hideo!"

This time, it was Hideo's turn to drag her friend to her destination as Anzu protested. "Keep quiet, will ya? Trust me, we really don't wanna get caught here." Hideo sized up the cracked and overgrown brick wall she brought Anzu to, did some sloppy mental math, mentally shrugged, and mentally pushed all of that aside and trusted her instincts. "Follow my lead."

Hideo stretched for a half minute, psyching herself up before jumping at the ruined masonry and jabbing her fingers into the cracks. Then her toes found purchase, and she laboriously pulled herself up.

"You want me to climb that?" Anzu eyed the wall dubiously.

"Like ya said: what else are we supposed t' do?" Hideo continued her slow ascent towards what she assumed was the window to Professor Yoshimori's office, grunting from the exertion. "I know from experience that ya have some damn powerful gams; use 'em!" 

Anzu sputtered, then hung her head, resigning herself to a long climb. 

The wall held steady the entire time, and Hideo thanked her lucky stars for her good fortune as she quietly busted open the window that she hoped would lead to Professor Yoshimori's office. 

It was not Professor Yoshimori's office.

Hideo dragged her hands down her face—which didn't hurt nearly as badly as it had just a few hours before—and pulled Anzu inside. Despite the grueling climb, the other girl had barely broken a sweat and hadn't complained at all. If Anzu could reach this level of athleticism just by dancing _ en pointe _, Hideo shuddered to think of what she could accomplish if she learned how to actually fight.

Anzu looked to her left. Then to her right. Then down at Hideo. "Hideo."

"Yes, Anzu?"

"This isn't the professor's office."

"I know, Anzu."

"This is the men's bathroom."

"I'm aware, Anzu."

"You do realize that I am never going to let you live this down."

"Wouldn't have it any other way." Hideo opened the door a crack, sneaking a peek outside before very slowly and very quietly (that is to say, very ungracefully and very loudly) opening it fully and darting outside. "Look, at least we're on th’ right floor. Let's just find Professor Yoshimori's room and... what were ya planning on doing?"

Anzu emerged from the bathroom, carefully scanning the empty, brightly-lit and linoleum-lined hallways before following Hideo. "Telling the Egyptian to stop in a firm tone of voice."

Snorting, Hideo checked the floor's residency sign and turned to walk back around the way they came. "And if that doesn't work?"

"I let Thorn out of the puzzle." At Anzu's words, her shadow seemed to perk up like a puppy who just heard its master call its name. Was it just Hideo, or was her shadow's hair- wait, no scratch that, how did she have a shadow in the first place, the building was so bright that Hideo... forget it. That was not a train of thought Hideo wanted to keep riding.

Finally, they arrived at the door to Yoshimori's office. Hideo took a deep breath. "Ya ready t'-"

"Anzu!"

Hideo leaned her head back and groaned. 

Behind the two girls were a pair of rapidly-approaching Mutous, concern clear on Yugi's face and crotchety exhaustion writ large across Sugoroku's. 

Anzu whirled around to face Yugi, her fear easily matching Yugi's formidable mix of concern and relief. "I thought I told you two to stay put!"

"I- I know I shouldn't have butted into all this," Yugi panted, hands on his knees, "And I really did want to go home and let you figure out all of your stuff on your own except I didn't because you're my friend and I care about you but I spent too long trying to figure out whether to follow you or not that Grandpa just dragged me home but then we saw the news about Mr. Kanekura dying and so we figured we might as well go see Professor Yoshimori anyways and so now I'm here and there's nothing you can do about it!" Stomping his foot to punctuate his point, Yugi stiffened his spine and looked up at Anzu, determination shining in his eyes.

Anzu reached towards Yugi, and Hideo couldn't tell whether she wanted to strangle or hug him before she flailed her hands in an incoherent gesticulation of frustration and/or affection and lowered her arms. "Yugi, I... I'm not glad you came, and I _ really _ would've preferred it if you stayed home tonight, but still. Thank you."

"And now that we're all together and you're not freaking out maybe you can tell me about J-"

"AnywaysWe'veGotAProfessorToMeet." Words tumbling out of her mouth like a waterfall, Anzu wrenched the door to Yoshimori's office open and stepped inside. 

Within was who Hideo assumed was Professor Yoshimori, standing hunched over his desk. "T h a n k y o u f o r c o m i n g," he said, voice rattling more than speaking. It gave Hideo the creeps. "C o m e i n, c o-"

Anzu sniffed, recoiled like she smelled the leftovers in Hideo's semi-functional fridge that Hideo had insisted were still good, wrinkled her forehead, and took another long whiff of the air. Then, without a moment of hesitation, she picked up a globe on a file cabinet and whacked Yoshimori across the head hard enough for the ball to go flying off of the stand and ricochet off a nearby wall. Yoshimori dropped like a sack of bricks.

"Anzu!" Sugoroku yelled, stepping towards Anzu. "What are you-"

"I don't know who that is, but it isn't Yoshimori! He didn't smell human!" Head whipping back and forth as she frantically searched for what Hideo assumed was the ghost, Anzu pointed at Hideo. "Hold him down before he gets up!"

Her friend's voice brooking no argument, Hideo fell upon Yoshimori's prone form and held him down in her best (albeit limited, considering her size) grapple. "Ya better be right, because- wait, he didn't _ smell _ human?"

"I, uh." They all stood—or sat, in Hideo's case—in a circle, awkwardly glancing at Anzu. "Look, it's... it's a thing with the Puzzle, alright? I don't know how to explain it."

Another moment of silence passed. Then Yoshimori threw Hideo off with explosive force, sending her flying across the room like a ragdoll. Before anybody could react, he lunged at Sugoroku, lifting him up by the throat and squeezing the life out of him despite missing several teeth and likely suffering from a severe concussion.

"Mazaki Anzu." Everyone but Yoshimori turned towards the Egyptian who was standing in the center of the room like he had always been there and was just politely waiting for them to notice him. "Tonight, I am here to pass judgment upon two souls: Professor Yoshimori, and Mutou Yugi."

"What?!" Anzu balked. "What on Earth did Yugi do to deserve your sick 'judgment!'"

"He altered the weave of fate, and even I do not know the consequences of what he has wrought."

Snarling, Anzu leaned towards the Egyptian. "Give me a straight answer!" (If the situation had been less dire, Hideo would've laughed at Anzu's unintentional joke.)

"Enough." The Egyptian was suddenly behind Yugi, the weird cross thingy around his neck embedded in the back of the boy's skull. With a deft flick of his wrist, he pulled it out, and Yugi stood limply like a still marionette. "I have reduced the boy to a simple doll with no will of his own. He will do whatever I command—if I told him to die, he would force his own heart to stop. Anzu, if you can prove to me that you are worthy to bear this tangle of destiny that he has wrought, I will save both Yugi and the professor. Come with me to the roof, and we shall play our Shadow Game." With that, the Egyptian disappeared, taking Yugi's empty shell with him. 

Sugoroku reached towards where Yugi, eyes bugging out of his head from strangulation, horror, or most likely both. "Yu... gi..." With that last gasp, he passed out, and Yoshimori's husk unceremoniously dropped him to the floor. At that same inhuman speed, Yoshimori charged Hideo, but this time she was aware enough to dodge out of the way. 

Anzu's knuckles whitened as she balled her fists at her sides. "FINE! YOU SHALL HAVE YOUR GAME!" she bellowed, voice dropping. Hideo flinched as she felt the air pressure in the room change, the hairs on the back of her neck standing up in response. If Hideo hadn't known about Thorn beforehand, she wouldn't have noticed the switch. But now that she was looking closely, Anzu seemed _ sharper _ somehow, her stance unyielding as something on her brow shone like a supernova and wow Hideo really needed to pay better attention to Yoshimori.

Hideo slid between the husk's legs as he made another grab for her throat. "Alright, Thorn, ya jackass! Go make up for what ya did ta Anzu's friends; I'll hold this bastard off for _ Anzu _!"

Thorn nodded at Hideo, their noble bearing only adding to Hideo's adrenaline-fueled anger. "Thank you, Hideo. You are a true friend, and-"

"Oh, shaddup! I'm Anzu's friend, not yours! Now go do your damn job!" Thorn was at a loss for words until Hideo shot them another glare. Then they were still at a loss for words, but this time they were running out of the office and towards the stairs. 

Which left Hideo to square up with Yoshimori's husk. She spat on his floor—which really needed a cleaning anyways—and put up her dukes. "Lessgo, ponyboy."

Yoshimori was fast. But he wasn't accurate. Hideo ducked under his clumsy swipe, grinning slyly. Popping back up, she drove the full weight of her body into an uppercut aimed for his solar plexus. Her knuckles slammed into soft, academic flesh, lifting Yoshimori two inches off the ground. 

The wind was forced from his lungs, but he didn't flinch. Neither did Hideo.

Wasting no time, Hideo popped a left jab into his neck, just to the left of his Adam's apple. She had to correct her angle at the last moment; Hideo didn't want to kill him, after all. Both of her hands clamped down on his shoulders, pushing him down towards her rapidly-rising knee on a collision course with his groin. Then she reared her head back and smashed her forehead into Yoshimori's in a vicious headbutt.

(Anzu seriously owed her for this one.)

That would've been enough to make any other man Hideo had met plead for mercy. But Yoshimori wasn't a man anymore, according to Anzu. He was somehow still standing, not stopping for a moment as he continued to flail at Hideo's throat. Taking a page out of Anzu's book, Hideo slid backwards to give herself room and planted a perfectly-executed sidekick on Yoshimori's stomach. He rocketed away from Hideo and crashed into his bookshelf, a cavalcade of leatherbound hardbacks tumbling down and entrapping him within a mound of academia. If Hideo had a more literary mind, she would've found it poetic.

Yoshimori crawled out and resumed his advance towards Hideo.

"_ How. _" She gaped at the husk for two precious seconds, shocked. There was no way a going-on-middle-aged man could possibly take this much punishment. Whatever. Nothing for it except for another round of pummeling. Hideo shook off her astonishment and charged into the fray once more, fists flying and feet swinging and knees and elbows jabbing in a flurry of precise blows that were almost too fast to track. Each one hit their mark. And Yoshimori shrugged them all off like it was nothing. "Oh, come on."

Even if whatever magic the Egyptian had worked on the poor bastard kept his body moving, Yoshimori-the-human wouldn't be able to withstand much more before giving out completely. Hideo had to find a way to end this in a single, decisive blow. Which wasn't possible in a completely-destroyed office, so Hideo turned tail and fled, Yoshimori giving chase.

She turned corner after corner, not in the vain hope of losing the husk, but to try and find a solution to the problem he presented. Up ahead: fire extinguisher, trophy case, closet. Perfect. 

Hideo swiped the fire extinguisher, spraying an unhealthy dose of foam in Yoshimori's face and smirking when he slowed down. Jump up. Brace against the wall. Jump again. Kick off the trophy case. Jump higher. Raise arm. 

Atomic elbow drop onto Yoshimori. 

For the first time since Anzu whanged him in the head with the globe, Yoshimori went down and stayed down for long enough for Hideo to catch her breath. There was no time for that, though. The trophy case was teetering dangerously close to falling over, which was exactly what Hideo wanted. She ripped the closet door open, tossed Yoshimori's limp body instead, and shut it moments before the case fell, barricading Yoshimori inside. 

Now Hideo took a deep breath. 

Not a scratch on her, Hideo wiped her hands and sprinted towards the stairwell. She was fairly certain there wasn't any way she could meaningfully help against Thorn's opponent, but she could at least be there for moral support. That had to count for something, right? Hideo burst through the doors to the roof, and all the air was sucked out of her lungs at what she saw.

Thorn stood on a platform in the center of a bottomless, impossible pit, glaring at the Egyptian with black hatred. The Egyptian guarded some convoluted contraption with statues and ropes and that cross thing he had earlier, all attached to a plank of wood that extended off the roof; the soulless Yugi stood upon its edge, perfectly still. 

"This is the final game, Thorn," the Egyptian said, apathetic to Thorn's antipathy. "It has simple rules: on each player's turn, they throw the Millennium Puzzle. Their opponent must step two spaces in whatever direction it points."

"Have you finally decided to take the field?" Thorn said, wroth. "These are a coward’s games, hiding behind illusions as you are!"

"I have found a suitable opponent." And a young man with blond hair and unfathomably hateful eyes appeared nose-to-nose with Thorn, staring at them with pure fury. (Hideo could see through him, straight through the empty illusion the Egyptian constructed, but she couldn't scream or run or move a muscle.)

Thorn flinched, eyes widening. Then they disappeared, leaving Anzu in their place. One of the three lower statues tied to the Egyptian's device turned to dust. "Jounouchi, I..."

"You should've killed me."

A second. "I'm so sorry, please, I-" Every inch of Anzu trembled, every dead syllable that fell out of her mouth like a tombstone laced with poisonous regret. 

(Hideo broke the spell for just long enough to reach out to Anzu, to let out a choked letter, but she didn't even notice.)

"DEATH WOULD'VE BEEN BETTER THAN THIS!" Not Jounouchi's edges disintegrated and reformed in sickening patterns, leaving just barely enough room for a person to half exist. 

The last cracked nearly in two. 

Anzu's eyes flickered towards Yugi. She took a deep, shuddering breath. In, out. Hideo saw the last vestiges of her steely resolve flicker out in her eyes, replaced by something sick and hateful but just as strong. 

"Roll the dice, doom me again, I-"

"I pass the turn." Anzu closed her eyes. 

Jounouchi snatched the Millennium Puzzle from her grasp, throwing it on the ground to point to the edge. "_ Your go _, murderer."

Anzu took two steps back. Tears fell from her eyes, spattering against the concrete. 

"I pass the turn."

Another throw. "You deserve what's coming to you!" Desert sand flew into Anzu's face from Not Jounouchi's mouth. _ "You did this to me! _"

Anzu took two steps back. "I'm sorry."

"THROW!"

"I pass the turn." She was on the edge now. 

"ANZU, HE'S NOT REAL!" Hideo screamed.

She turned to smile at Hideo, and Hideo felt like she was the one vanishing into the abyss. "That doesn't matter."

"Just _ die _already!" Not Jounouchi. He threw the puzzle.

"He's right, Hideo. This is what I deserve.”

"PLEASE, DON'T, I CAN'T- I-"

"I'm sorry," Anzu said for one last time as she took a step backwards. Then another, into darkness.

Anzu fell.

* * *

Jounouchi Katsuya opened his eyes.

* * *

[CW: Suicidal ideation.]

Anzu was fine with dying.

In her last moments, it all came together. 

She'd known that she deserved to die the moment she heard what happened to Jounouchi, of course. Anzu had felt the truth settle in her gut, accepted it, wrestled with it. 

But until Jounouchi appeared before her, she didn't know what to do. Looking into his false, true irises, what Anzu had to do crystallized.

She had to fall. She had to die. It was only right.

_ It was only right _.

She didn't feel one way or another about death. It was just the right thing to do.

So Anzu was fine with dying.

There was a certain peace that came with accepting it. At least she could leave the world with-

[End CW.]

A hand grabbed her own, and slowly, painstakingly pulled her up. Even as she thrashed and flailed. Even as she screamed that she deserved it. Even as she refused to open her eyes. 

Somebody soft and warm and _ real _ in an unbearable way pulled her into an embrace, and whispered three agonizing words in her ear: 

"I forgive you."

Anzu's eyes fluttered open without her permission, and she found herself nestled in Jounouchi's shoulder, sobbing. "I'm sorry.

"I'm sorry.

"I'm sorry.

"I'm sorry.

"I'm-

"It wasn't your fault, Anzu." Jounouchi squeezed her tighter, and Anzu cried harder. "It's fine. It's fine. It's fine. 

"I'm... well, I guess I'm not _ here _, am I?" Jounouchi chuckled, awkward, and something about his laugh made Anzu join in, hysterical. "I just... you can't let this guy beat you, Anzu. This is really cheesy, but you're way stronger than him. Like. In every way. If you could touch him you could totally kick his ass." Anzu laughed again, lighter this time. "Beat him for me, okay? It's fine. I'm fine. I can't stay here for much longer, but... I don't think you need me for that much longer, either."

Anzu sniffled and squeezed back. "Just one more minute."

"One more minute."

They held each other for that minute, Anzu savoring every second. 

Then he disappeared, and Anzu was left with a pile of dust on an unadorned roof. She forced herself to her feet, wiping away her snot and tears. 

And she glared at the Egyptian with all of her might. 

He flinched, and the first crack in his _ shabti _ appeared. 

"Listen up, you _ inhuman psychopath _ !" Anzu roared, jabbing her index finger at the Egyptian. Another crack, bigger this time. Hideo whooped and fell flat on her face. "I don't know _ what _ filthy, abyssal hole you've been living in your whole life—probably the same one I've been dunking my head in this past week, if I'm being honest!—that you think you can _ win _ against me with droning, incomprehensible monologues and a lower capacity for emotional manipulation than a fucking _ toddler _," a third crack, "but rest assured, whatever you learned down there isn't!

"Worth!

"Shit!

"Because even though I might forget it sometimes, you apparently never learned the _ very basic lesson _ that friends don't betray one another! Period! It doesn't matter how far apart we are or what twisted illusions you come up with, as long as they have a god damn semblance of life to them enough to make me think for a _ second _that they might be real, they won't betray me, and I wouldn't betray them!

"Here's the thing: I don't expect you to know this, considering that you're obviously so stunted in every area that you get some kind of sick glee from all of these overwrought soap opera theatrics designed to make a high-school girl feel so bad she wants to fucking _ kill herself _ , so let me educate you: as long as our bonds exist, we're invincible! Even if you win, I'll have all of my friends to pick me back up and utterly _ destroy you _while they're at it! And no matter how much distance you try to put between us as a desperate ploy to prevent that, no matter how much you wear our bond down, we'll still be there for each other in our hearts when we don't have the strength to move on our own!

"Allow me to demonstrate!" Anzu wrapped the Millenium Puzzle's chain around her arm, the base of the amulet tight against her knuckles. "THIS IS FOR YUGI!" Bellowing a triumphant kiai, Anzu punched straight through the Egyptian's face, reducing the ghost to mist—and his _ shabti _with it. The Millennium Key zipped towards Yugi, passing through his hand and falling into the darkness below, and without Anzu needing to tell her, Hideo scrambled across the plank, tucked Yugi under her arm, and clambered back onto the roof before the boy could freak out or the wood could splinter. 

The three of them stood there, speechless for a perfect moment.

Then Yugi wrapped all three of them in a hug and began inelegantly blubbering. Hideo followed suit with extremely manly, dignified tears (manly perhaps, dignified definitely not) and leaned against Yugi, alternating between pleading with Anzu to never do anything like that again, congratulating her on annihilating the Egyptian, and calling her an idiot.

Anzu received their love, their joy, their worry, their relief, and her own tears began flowing down her face once more. They were lighter this time, though. Freer.

She pulled Yugi and Hideo closer and stared at the clear night sky, smiling lopsidedly. 

Whatever happened from here, whatever challenges she may have to face...

It was going to be okay.

After all, she had her friends by her side.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Now we're back to the beginning  
It's just a feeling and no one knows yet  
But just because they can't feel it too  
Doesn't mean that you have to forget
> 
> Let your memories grow stronger and stronger  
'Til they're before your eyes  
You'll come back  
When they call you  
No need to say goodbye
> 
> You'll come back  
When they call you  
No need to say goodbye"
> 
> This is the last major appearance Hideo's gonna make for a while, so I feel kinda sad that it's the sloppiest thing I've written for this fic thus far. Still, I wrote it in a short time period in the wee hours of the morning while listening to rock music so I could win a petty bet with a friend, so I think it's what she would've wanted.
> 
> I'm likely going to take a break from this fic to work on other projects for a while since we left off on a hopeful note, so if this doesn't update for a while, that doesn't mean it's abandoned.
> 
> Thank you all for reading, leaving kudos, and commenting. We're only on the 10th chapter now because of everybody who's hopped into the comments and dropped a kudos. It means so much to me.

**Author's Note:**

> Updates will be sporadic. Thank you for your patience.


End file.
